Veterans Dish It Up; Jobs for Vets!
Donation protected
My name is Dan.
I am a Navy veteran who is also a recovering quadriplegic.
It has been my experience that people with disabilities, including myself, have two obstacles to living a full and fulfilling life. First, the disability itself, and how it limits every choice we make. Second, it limits the opportunities others are willing to share with us because often they are more inclined to see what makes us disabled rather than what makes us very abled.
A year and a half ago, I lost a job due to my use of a cane. I had otherwise had a very successful, though short lived, experience working as a sommelier at a prestigious restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant was unwilling to accommodate the cane without a significant invasion of my personal privacy, something I was unwilling to yield, so I was let go. I decided to start my own restaurant that day. I can’t discriminate against myself, and I sure as hell can make sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else under my watch.
As the concept took shape, I began to see the restaurant as more than providing myself and my family the opportunity to reach our potential; it began to take shape as a mission to create jobs for others who have shared my experience. Talking to other vets, many with disabilities as severe as mine, many with disabilities even more severe, I began to see the same pattern show in their experiences. This restaurant is an opportunity to correct that pattern and help others realize their desires to return to work and contribute again to society.
We as veterans don’t typically respond to charity very well. Some just can’t work, and all of us understand that’s the case, but many more of us want to work and just don’t have the chance. We respond to opportunity. I know this appeal sounds like the former, but this is a plea for the latter. Please help me help these vets “learn to fish” again.
The restaurant itself has enough funding right now for the build. Funding a restaurant is very difficult the first time around, but I have had a number of investors see the company for what we are and they were willing to contribute. The problem here is that we are not trying to find a bunch of experienced servers and cooks and put them to work. We are seeking out veterans that can’t get work and train them to do what we do, even if they have little or no restaurant experience. This means our budget for staffing and training will have to almost triple to get these young men and women the opportunities that elude them. I have found many veterans that are excited for the opportunity, but I have no way to get them the skills they need to succeed.
This is why we have the GoFundMe campaign, and why it’s so important.
The cost of the extra time training will be at least an additional $50,000 in wages alone. This doesn’t include the expenses for food materials, disability accommodations, and the training management staff’s additional time. I estimate that the additional cost will approach $100,000. From a business manager’s standpoint, the additional cost is well worth it. From these veterans I can count on a more dedicated, hardworking staff than any other restaurant, with minimal turnover, impeccable integrity, and a real desire to be there. While this is good for the longer term, it doesn't change the fact that it is a costly undertaking right now.
Your contribution here will go directly toward the recruitment, training, and accommodation of our veterans working here at 4th & Olive. Every penny raised will help put someone to work. Many of these vets are homeless or on the brink of homelessness, and these jobs are a permanent and sustainable solution to meeting their basic rights to dignity and life.
SPECIAL THANKS go out to Growlerwerks for helping us reward our contributors with thank you gifts. Please check out their new growlers. We will have them in the restaurant for sale, and they are unbelievably rad as hell. Check them out at http://www.growlerwerks.com!!
Many folks have been asking us questions about the campaign, so here are a few of them answered:
You're a quadriplegic? How are you going to run a restaurant?
I had an injury in my neck that damaged, but didn't completely sever, my spinal cord at C5-C7. I am a "walking quad." What this means is that I have movement in my limbs, but not full range. Also, movement is very painful. My limitation is mostly pain and coordination, rather than strength. Fortunately, as veteran, I am very stubborn and have learned to push through it. I have to rest more than most people throughout the day, but I always get back up and find ways to see the day through.
Why didn't you sue the company that let you go?
I tried to, but the folks that witnessed what went down were afraid to testify. They were worried for their jobs and about retaliation in the company, so the suit fell through. It was disappointing but understandable. Frankly, I would rather we were able to do this without their dirty money anyway. We don't need their taint to get this off the ground.
When will the restaurant open?
Look for us to open toward the end of October. Opening day is just around the corner!!
Thank you so much everyone for your time and participation. Please let me know if you have any questions whatsoever!
Rewards levels...If you don't like bacon, let me know. It saddens me that you don't, but I can work something out for you.
The Facebook link for the Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/dtaptavernco
I am a Navy veteran who is also a recovering quadriplegic.
It has been my experience that people with disabilities, including myself, have two obstacles to living a full and fulfilling life. First, the disability itself, and how it limits every choice we make. Second, it limits the opportunities others are willing to share with us because often they are more inclined to see what makes us disabled rather than what makes us very abled.
A year and a half ago, I lost a job due to my use of a cane. I had otherwise had a very successful, though short lived, experience working as a sommelier at a prestigious restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant was unwilling to accommodate the cane without a significant invasion of my personal privacy, something I was unwilling to yield, so I was let go. I decided to start my own restaurant that day. I can’t discriminate against myself, and I sure as hell can make sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else under my watch.
As the concept took shape, I began to see the restaurant as more than providing myself and my family the opportunity to reach our potential; it began to take shape as a mission to create jobs for others who have shared my experience. Talking to other vets, many with disabilities as severe as mine, many with disabilities even more severe, I began to see the same pattern show in their experiences. This restaurant is an opportunity to correct that pattern and help others realize their desires to return to work and contribute again to society.
We as veterans don’t typically respond to charity very well. Some just can’t work, and all of us understand that’s the case, but many more of us want to work and just don’t have the chance. We respond to opportunity. I know this appeal sounds like the former, but this is a plea for the latter. Please help me help these vets “learn to fish” again.
The restaurant itself has enough funding right now for the build. Funding a restaurant is very difficult the first time around, but I have had a number of investors see the company for what we are and they were willing to contribute. The problem here is that we are not trying to find a bunch of experienced servers and cooks and put them to work. We are seeking out veterans that can’t get work and train them to do what we do, even if they have little or no restaurant experience. This means our budget for staffing and training will have to almost triple to get these young men and women the opportunities that elude them. I have found many veterans that are excited for the opportunity, but I have no way to get them the skills they need to succeed.
This is why we have the GoFundMe campaign, and why it’s so important.
The cost of the extra time training will be at least an additional $50,000 in wages alone. This doesn’t include the expenses for food materials, disability accommodations, and the training management staff’s additional time. I estimate that the additional cost will approach $100,000. From a business manager’s standpoint, the additional cost is well worth it. From these veterans I can count on a more dedicated, hardworking staff than any other restaurant, with minimal turnover, impeccable integrity, and a real desire to be there. While this is good for the longer term, it doesn't change the fact that it is a costly undertaking right now.
Your contribution here will go directly toward the recruitment, training, and accommodation of our veterans working here at 4th & Olive. Every penny raised will help put someone to work. Many of these vets are homeless or on the brink of homelessness, and these jobs are a permanent and sustainable solution to meeting their basic rights to dignity and life.
SPECIAL THANKS go out to Growlerwerks for helping us reward our contributors with thank you gifts. Please check out their new growlers. We will have them in the restaurant for sale, and they are unbelievably rad as hell. Check them out at http://www.growlerwerks.com!!
Many folks have been asking us questions about the campaign, so here are a few of them answered:
You're a quadriplegic? How are you going to run a restaurant?
I had an injury in my neck that damaged, but didn't completely sever, my spinal cord at C5-C7. I am a "walking quad." What this means is that I have movement in my limbs, but not full range. Also, movement is very painful. My limitation is mostly pain and coordination, rather than strength. Fortunately, as veteran, I am very stubborn and have learned to push through it. I have to rest more than most people throughout the day, but I always get back up and find ways to see the day through.
Why didn't you sue the company that let you go?
I tried to, but the folks that witnessed what went down were afraid to testify. They were worried for their jobs and about retaliation in the company, so the suit fell through. It was disappointing but understandable. Frankly, I would rather we were able to do this without their dirty money anyway. We don't need their taint to get this off the ground.
When will the restaurant open?
Look for us to open toward the end of October. Opening day is just around the corner!!
Thank you so much everyone for your time and participation. Please let me know if you have any questions whatsoever!
Rewards levels...If you don't like bacon, let me know. It saddens me that you don't, but I can work something out for you.
The Facebook link for the Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/dtaptavernco
Organizer
Dtap Taverns
Organizer
Long Beach, CA