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    Service! Launching Workforce Development Program with Cafe Overlook

    When Service! was formed at the onset of the pandemic, it addressed an immediate need of feeding and supporting individuals in the hospitality industry that suddenly found themselves out of work.

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    Now almost exactly two years into pandemic life as things move to a new kind of normal, the organization can turn its focus from emergency needs to industry disruptor.

    Sangeeta Lakhani, executive director and founder, says as they enter their next phase, the mission of Service! hasn’t changed.

    “Our mission was always to serve the service industry and provide resources and training and education,” Lakhani says.

    But a call from the Franklin County Commissioners is helping Service! take its next steps more quickly than anticipated.

    Later this month, Service! will open Cafe Overlook in the cafeteria space on the 16th floor of the Franklin County Courthouse, 373 S. High St. Running the restaurant as a social enterprise, Cafe Overlook will help prepare its employees for careers in the hospitality industry through training and educational resources.

    The courthouse cafeteria has sat empty for the last two years. Previously run by a corporate cafeteria service, Lakhani says when it was time to get things back up and running, the Commissioners were adamant that they wanted to work with a local non-profit this time around. Seeing how the organization had grown in the short time since its inception, Service! was asked to run the space, and Lakhani says if they were going to be involved, they wanted to stay as close to their mission as possible and that meant education.

    “We’re really leaning into the workforce development,” says Service! President and Founder Matt Heaggans.

    Cafe Overlook will focus on training individuals that might not have a lot of industry experience on every aspect of the business – from washing dishes to working with customers in the front of the house. Employees will develop a solid baseline of skills, creating a potential pipeline of employees for local bars and restaurants, which the group also hopes will help address the industry’s current labor shortage. The goal is not for employees to stay at Cafe Overlook, but find additional opportunities in the industry.

    Service! will work with organizations like the Department of Job & Family Services, Jewish Family Services and ECDI on staffing Cafe Overlook and providing wrap-around services for its employees. Hiring will focus on individuals who have been hard-hit by the pandemic, are searching for gainful employment, are returning citizens, and more.

    The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will provide financial support for employee payroll as Lakhani says they want to make sure every employee is earning a livable wage.

    “They asked us to ask for the moon and we did,” Lakhani.

    Cafe Overlook employees will also have healthcare and access to additional wrap-around services like transportation, childcare, and uniforms. Case managers will help with soft skills like how to apply for a job and how to interview as employees transition away from the cafe.

    Heaggans says that when most people enter the restaurant industry, there’s not a lot of care and attention on making sure the experience is worthwhile and fulfilling. Instead, Cafe Overlook’s objective is all about getting new industry employees off to a good start – about helping people find a job and be a valued employee at a place that pays them enough, Heaggans adds.

    Lakhani says the treatment of employees in the hospitality industry has been on the back of her and Heaggans’ minds for some time, but was often lost in the day-to-day of running their own restaurants. If there is any silver lining from the pandemic, it’s that the pair, and their fellow founders, have now found themselves in a position to make a change.

    The launch of Cafe Overlook is a callout to local restaurants that want to partner with them, Lakhani says – restaurants that want to take on staff that have been trained through this program, and also raise the standard of how they are taking care of their employees.

    As for the cafeteria itself, Cafe Overlook will start with the basics: a coffee shop, salad bar and grill open for breakfast and lunch. The initial focus on coffee fills a gap of easily accessible coffee options for the building’s workers and visitors. On the grill, they’re taking some guidance from what worked before with quick, convenient items like a burger or chicken sandwich. There will also be some breakfast dishes – a biscuit sandwich, grain bowl or southern-inspired porridge, and at the request of the county, more vegetarian menu options.

    Grab-and-go foods will come next, then hopefully by the end of the year, three incubator kitchen spaces dubbed The Hub. Details are still coming together on how the incubator spaces will function, but they’ll provide commercial kitchen space for individuals that might be looking to launch their own food truck or restaurant. Service! will receive support from ECDI to help businesses that spin out of the incubator kitchens with microloans, finding their next commercial space, and more.

    For more information, visit servicerelief.org.

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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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