Mission.

Our mission is to provide funding and education to diverse restaurateurs. We strongly believe that through effective hospitality training mixed with financial consciousness, any restaurant concept can become a sustainable, scalable business.

Team.

Jackson Flores (she/her) is an operations consultant with over a decade of experience in international, multi-concept dining, and quick service operations. Jackson specializes in developing operational foundations and processes for high volume concepts; built to launch, scale, and sustain profitability from concept to completion. Previous experience includes; Starbucks, B&B Hospitality, Michelin-Rated concepts: Quiote and Todos Santos, and the University Club of Chicago.

Brian Soto (he/him) is a Certified Public Accountant who owns and operates a small CPA firm in Chicago providing accounting & CFO services. His clients consist of small- to medium-sized businesses ranging from restaurants to manufacturing companies. Brian and his team have helped clients reduce tax exposure, increase profits margins, and raise funding. Brian specializes in startup consulting with a focus on bootstrapping, unit-cost economics, and tax savings.

Estelle Lozano (she/her) is a brand development professional with expertise in consumer, food, beverage, beauty and wellness industries. Estelle specializes in developing corporate identities, brand strategies, product launches, multi-tier marketing plans, dynamic activations and fostering relationships with major brands and partners. Previous experience includes; Cleveland Avenue, the Italian Trade Agency, Vantage Airport Group, and LBP Packaging.

Hector Pardo (he/him) is a project management consultant & DEI champion with a decade of experience in high-paced tech and start-up environments. His strong leadership and communication skills help ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. He’s helped plan and execute dozens of cultural, community, and business initiatives aimed to recruit and retain POC employees, support the growth of minority-owned merchants on e-commerce platforms, and engage more POC consumers.

Sany Nguyễn, Esq. (she/her) is an attorney with nearly 10 years of experience zealously representing clients in a multitude of legal matters; 6+ years as a startup and small business consultant; creatives and artists’ agent, and a passionate public servant with 15+ years as a not for profit professional and successive community initiative builder.

Chris Cole (he/him) is an education and diversity expert. He holds a Bachelor's in Political Science and African-American Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master's in Higher Education Administration from Florida International University. Chris's career includes empowering community college students at One Million Degrees and managing a collegiate community of 325 chapters as Senior Manager at the American Marketing Association (AMA). His contributions led to his appointment as Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Community Engagement at AMA, where he shapes DEI strategies and ensures program inclusivity. Chris's broad experience spans leadership, mentoring, marketing, and program management across various sectors, consistently driving positive change.

Purpose.

DishRoulette Kitchen’s first purpose is to provide funding. We do so through the DRK $1k Grant Campaign. We understand that nothing is more valuable to restaurants than simple monetary relief. This $1k grant is our way of extending a hand to keep these restaurants running without asking for anything in return.

Our second purpose is to educate. Our physical space serves as a restaurant development center where we provide hospitality training and financial education to grant applicants. As part of the programming, we’ve hand-selected the first business from our grant applicant pool to go through a 1-on-1, rotational business program where we prepare them for scaling.