Zachary Sharaga, founder of Dear Mama and a participant in DoorDash's 2021 Accelerator for Local Restaurants, introduced in a blog post this year’s Accelerator for Local Restaurants cohort, including 20 local restaurants from New Jersey and New York City.
The list includes cafes, pizzerias, and globally-inspired eateries including a Cuban restaurant, a West African restaurant, and a Haitian-American eatery. Each small business owner will receive $10,000 in grants, an eight-week training and education program, one-on-one business advising, networking opportunities, and more.
The prizes are made possible through the following partnerships, Accion Opportunity Fund, the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, and the Five Borough Chamber Alliance in New York City. This year, DeliverZero is also providing the selected restaurants with free environmentally friendly and reusable packaging while looking for more sustainable ways to conduct business operations.
“DoorDash’s mission of growing and empowering local economies resonates with me because it means supporting small businesses like mine that power local economies,” wrote Sharaga. “The Accelerator for Local Restaurants connects small business owners to other restaurateurs and strengthens the community by creating a meaningful and supportive network.”
Since its inception in 2021, the program has supported over 150 restaurateurs in eight cities in the U.S. Full Story
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