¶ Building a Sustainable Small Restaurant
Take a look at what you're good at , what brings you joy and what needs doing , and the intersection of those three things is your action . That's where you should be .
Welcome to how I Built my Small Business . I'm Anne McGinty , your host , and today we have Naomi Crawford , the visionary founder and CEO of Lunchette . Naomi has been at the forefront of the sustainable business movement , transforming Lunchette into a model for eco-friendly and socially responsible practices .
Lunchette has become Petaluma California's go-to lunch spot and is renowned for its engagement in community building , zero-waste policies , commitment to paying living wages and partnership with small local farmers . Naomi's innovative approach not only champions sustainability , but also proves that doing good can positively impact the bottom line .
Lunchette was ranked by Sonoma Magazine as one of the 50 best restaurants in Sonoma County and has been recognized with a Slow Food Award for their business values . You can find a link through to her business in the episode's description .
Before we jump into the interview , there is one thing that you can do to help me reach more listeners' ears , and that is to please hit the follow button on your favorite streaming platform . This is incredibly helpful , so thank you in advance . Let's get started . Thank you to our listeners for being with us today . Naomi , welcome to the show .
Thank you so much . Thanks for having me .
So can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to start Lunchet and what your vision was for the company ?
Yes , we are a very small hole-in-the-wall grab-and-go restaurant in Petaluma and a friend of mine owned the location . It was a cute little store and one day when I was walking by she was like have you ever thought about taking over my space and doing something here ?
And I went and looked at she had built out a little kitchen and I had already designed a business plan with my partner to open a grab and go at another location . And it fell through . And so I thought like , oh , this is only 800 square feet , you couldn't have an actual restaurant . It would have to be grab and go . This could work .
And so I think four months later moved in .
And what was it about the grab and go model that was so attractive to you ?
I think it was important to us . We already were running another company called Pizza Politana and it was a wood fired pizza company . We had four ovens and we were at 12 to 14 farmers markets a week and we did catering .
We were really , really busy and we realized if we had a full restaurant we'd have to have service staff and that would be a huge training procedure and just problems we didn't want to have and so grab and go to us made the most sense .
Right Streamlined operations . It's a great business model , so can you share some of the biggest challenges that you faced when you started preparing to open Lunchette ?
Yeah , I mean the biggest challenge was we had two kids , a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old , and they had grown up with pizza polatana . But that was always really hard , for us too , finding childcare . It was like running a second business having them , and I don't think that there's an answer to the problem .
There's no good way to start a business while you have kids unless you have an incredible family to support you .
Not to say , our families aren't incredible , but we didn't have that kind of support , and so the kids had to kind of come along for the ride , and so what it created was we had to overstaff , and labor is probably the most expensive part of any business I think for restaurants it's typically 35% , not including management and so we were way overstaffed .
And then we weren't in the driver's seat either , so it felt to us like quality of both was diminished , and again , there's no real good solution for this .
It's just a fact , it's just what you had to do .
¶ Sustainability and Community Building in Restaurants
One of the things that I noticed when just looking at your site is that you really emphasize zero waste policies , so I was wondering if you could talk with us a little bit about how you developed those policies and then implemented them Of course I'm super enthusiastic about zero waste .
Part of this was a learning curve , for sure .
I really wanted it to be compostable materials , and so we had to learn what that truly meant , because what I thought was compostable wasn't necessarily compostable , and luckily a new little ad hoc committee started around the time we started , called Zero Waste Petaluma , and I was able to join Zero Waste Petaluma , and on it were members from our local trash hauler ,
recology , and our local composter , which at the time was called Sonoma Compost , and we learned a lot about what was truly a way to have the goal of zero waste . Obviously , there's a lot of waste in restaurants , but because it's grab and go , from the outside it looks like we're extremely wasteful , but I'd say 90% of our products are actually compostable .
The salad dressing containers are plant plastic , and plant plastic is not compostable in the state of California . It might be in other regions where they have cheaper land , but compost facilities require a lot of land and California , as you know , land is the most expensive thing . I mean , these are plant plastic .
It's not fossil fuel based , but it behaves the same way fossil fuel plastic behaves , so it doesn't break down all the way , and so it can't really be called compostable . It's called technically biodegradable , and so we learned about that . And then we really learned about diverting any food waste .
And so we work with a little farm called Rusty Hinges Ranch and they take all our food scraps to feed their pigs and they have these adorable pigs who are fed lunch every day . And so our green waste bin is all just our plant-based materials , our fiber bowls .
So we use wooden forks which are made from birch , and the paper napkins are 100% compostable , and then our fiber bowls are 100% compostable , and then our fiber bowls are 100% compostable .
Why would you say that sustainability is such an important aspect of Lunchette's business model and of your values too ? Where did this originate ?
It probably originated in college , because I went to UC Davis in the late 80s , early 90s and at that time there was a huge community there . My first restaurant job was at a vegetarian restaurant . We were a real community hub for live music and working with local farms . So this was my education and I don't think I knew much about sustainability before then .
And then , when I left Davis and I moved to San Francisco , I decided I wanted to become a chef and I picked out restaurants . I didn't know what at the time drew me to them . They were based on sustainable models and so they were working with ranchers at the time , like Nyman Ranch , who were farming cattle out on Bolinas Ridge .
So I was learning more and more about that and why it was important and why there was more nutrients in those types of food and why those foods tasted better . And so the model made sense and I've never veered from that since .
I think that we understood that we are part of a greater whole , that what we bring to lunch at which is mostly foods from small local farms who we tend to work with , farms who are farming regeneratively , meaning building soil health .
That affects our local ecology , our local economy when we work with these farmers , we're part of that local ecology economy , and were we to choose products that were outside of that , then we would be outside of that , and so there's an interconnectedness to all of our choices and sustainability .
There's a way to be sustainable that all you do is keep extracting , and there's a way to be sustainable where what you're building is thriving , and we want to be part of a community that is thriving and not just extracting and keeping something built just to keep extracting . We want to build something that is thriving for everybody that's involved .
In any way would you say that your sustainability practices have ended up actually driving your business , and profitability too ?
I have to think they have , because there is far cheaper food than what we produce , like our basic Caesar salad is $11 . And you can get a basic Caesar salad at another place for $6 . That is not organic , whereas our Parmesan is organic . All the lettuces that we use are sourced locally from different farmers .
We cut the root off and wash them all , sort them all , dry them all , and there's a mixture of three to four different lettuces . We make our own focaccia and cut it up into croutons . Our process is expensive and people pay for that , and so would it be better , would we be more profitable , if we got cheap loaves of bread and cut it up into chunks ?
I don't think so . I don't know that people would go for it . I think people taste the quality .
So how do you balance the need for profitability with your commitment to environmental and social goals ?
If our main mission is to build a thriving community , then everything we do has to point towards that . That's our North Star . So there's a couple of things .
One is we got lucky in buying a home in 2012 when the economy had tanked , and we wouldn't have been lucky had we not been saving to buy a commercial spot and the commercial properties were still out of reach and a mortgage broker suggested we buy a home instead .
So we got very lucky and so we've never needed that much money as a result , and so we have kept our salary the same for the last eight years . We've never taken a raise . All the money that we make any profitability at all , and that money goes back into the business to get people raises every year . The more you pay your staff , you pay equitably .
Then you keep people around .
You're creating a sustainable model . Can you give us an idea of the size of your team and how financially sound your business is ?
Sure , I mean , we only have eight employees , because the grab and go model doesn't require a huge staff . We only have one location and we have a commercial kitchen that provides for that location .
So the commercial kitchen , basically , is the engine , and the only thing that we need at the store itself is people who really enjoy being there , people who want to connect with customers every day and create community , and so they're bringing people in .
That's their only job is to just connect , and so it feels like if we did decide to open up other locations , because the idea when you have a commercial kitchen is that you then have satellites that it feeds , but we still have a kid at home . We have a 17-year-old who's going to be a senior this year .
We have a daughter in college , and it's been really important for us to maintain a balance , to be able to spend as much time with them as possible .
Our son is interested in studying business , and so he asked if , at the end of college so we're talking five years down the line could he come back and build out that model in a way that we haven't really wanted to , because we really prioritized family , but where a young person absolutely could , because it is a model that you could scale .
It absolutely makes sense to scale . One of the things he wants to study is how do you scale culture , because we've created a culture of connection and community wellness , well-being , and how do you scale that ? So this is something that he's interested in considering and I'm really excited to hear what he learned and be on for the ride .
That's really exciting . So , beyond your quality of food , which obviously is going to bring in a certain number of customers as it is , what would you say has also contributed to your success at a time when so many businesses are closing ?
That's such a good question . I mean I really do believe , because we give back to the community a lot . I'm on a lot of boards , I'm in the community . I'm asking other business owners to be part of that community . I'm asking our customers to pay attention to matters that are important to all of us to engage .
I wrote a zine for Lunchette called Launchette , and in the zine I give information on local artists , local authors , musicians , nonprofits , ways to donate , ways to volunteer time , local farms , CSAs , community supported agriculture and ways to become a CSA member , Because I feel like if we can , like I said , build that thriving community , it helps us too .
It helps bring people in to lunch at they're interested to
¶ Business Practices for Sustainable Restaurants
be there . And I think when businesses fail , it's a lot to do with time and place and getting lucky , like having their grab and go . Who would have known the pandemic would have been exactly the right thing for a grab and go ? Who would have known the pandemic would have been exactly the right thing for our grab and go ?
There's no way you could have predicted that it's luck .
Luck to an extent , but then to keep it thriving isn't luck .
No , it's also practices , it's hard work , it's a love for what we do . We get to go to work every day . It's our joy , it's our purpose . I didn't even realize our purpose is perfectly aligned to what we do . That's a phenomenal success right there .
Absolutely . Yeah , I love that what you just said . Right there , you get to go to work . It's not a have to go to work , and maybe that's part of the magic formula right there have to go to work , and maybe that's part of the magic formula right there .
What would you say are some practical steps that other small businesses could take to become more sustainable and afford to do so ?
I think doing the research before you open , because we learned the harder way , which was like we kept having to change out packaging and that becomes expensive .
So , doing the research before , which is talking to your waste hauler , talking to other business owners , having a real vision for what you want and that's authentic to you , not creating something that you think is on trend I do see people do that a lot Like oh it's trendy to do plant-based restaurant , I'm going to do a plant-based restaurant now , but without
having it be personally attached to your values , to your knowledge base . I think people also don't do the research on other businesses in their community to make sure that they're not replicating something that already exists , that they're unique and that they have values embedded in their business . I think it's a mistake to open a business without values .
They have to be clear and present and they have to serve the community .
I had somebody ask me the other day how to figure out what your values are . Wow , how did you figure out what your values are ?
Wow , that's so interesting out what your purpose is . And , like me , having two young people in my life , my teens nobody ever asked them what's your purpose . People always ask them what are you going to do ? What are you going to be ? What are you going to study ? What's your job going to be ? What are you going to study ? What's your job going to be ?
And I think the more important question is what's your purpose ? And just have that as your guiding light . Whatever it may be and it may change over time , but it could be something fundamental to who you are .
I mean , I think mine is to nourish , whether that's just nourishing through healthy food or nourishing people's minds through these kinds of conversations and engagement . My values , I think , stemmed from my mom , who was involved in civil rights .
She was marched with Martin Luther King , and when I was a kid we marched with Cesar Chavez , and I don't think you can grow up like that without having the values of social justice embedded in you . And then I don't think there's any justice that exists in a silo or injustice that exists in the silo . They're all connected .
So food injustices , environmental injustices , economic , they're all linked . And so the values that we've embedded into Lent Chat with Zero Waste .
I mean that has to do with economic and environmental justice and where materials are made and then where they're disposed , and I think shipping things from far distances typically harms marginal , marginal Spence Line communities and so I think everything is kind of linked and if you just sit with like , what do you value ?
Most people value their family , they value health of their family and if they can connect to that , then everything they do in their business will work towards creating a healthier family .
Yeah , that's beautiful . What an incredible upbringing you had . What do you wish that other businesses and restaurants knew about ? The environmental aspects of the food business .
Oh , my goodness , I wish that restaurants would commit 100% to sourcing locally and having seasonal food and the goal is 100% . Then maybe you get there by 50 , 60 , 70% , but so many restaurants , because the bottom line is so small , they're going to try and cheat that and get cheaper products .
But what you're feeding is feedlot animals and like a system that is just unjust to our earth and our human population and our non-human population .
And so I guess I just wish that restaurants if they understood the gravity of their buying decisions and the power of their buying decisions , that when they decide to opt for feedlot chicken instead of organic pasture-raised chicken , that what they're supporting is an oppressive system , a system that hurts not just the animals but the farm workers that work with those
animals , and the earth doesn't support that kind of a system . It's a degenerative system versus a regenerative system and that you can create sustainability out of that degenerative system where all you're doing is keeping inputs the same , that hurt the health of the land and the animals and the people working it and the people eating it .
Or you can support a regenerative system where everything is working towards better health of all of those same systems .
¶ Sustainable Practices in Business Growth
Incrementalism is the only thing we can really do like one thing at a time and I know that because I'm on the committee for our downtown businesses and we can't just ask people to upend everything and change everything they know . So it's just like one little thing at a time .
The first thing that we asked our business community to do is so you know , we all get a power bill and on the power bill you can click a box that says I want to use only green energy . It costs you an extra $10 a month , but by clicking that box you're ending fossil fuel and coal and all that use in our grid .
So it's just this one small thing that it does cost money to do .
But then , when you can have that little logo on your window that tells people that you have at least an awareness , and then all restaurants have to get supplied by vendors for produce , meats , all that I would talk to my sales rep and say I want my business to be a little bit more sustainable , a little bit greener .
When I order from you , can you try and give me as much organic produce as possible , can you try and get me as much local produce as possible ? And so it's just that one little thing . And then you have to look at your bottom line and say do I need to raise my prices ? How do I message that to my customers ?
How do I make sure that they know it's important ? And is that through social media ? Is that through coming and talking to customers when they walk in and saying , hey , I'm letting you know we had to raise our prices because we really want to use organic ? I don't know if that's important to you , but it's important to us . And here's why .
And why it matters to the people eating at your restaurant , or should matter . And how can you message ?
that . So you're just saying have an open line of communication to your customers and explain it in a way that just feels right , yeah , and the truth is that you might push some people away because of the price point .
They might have a very small budget for when they eat out and it is unfortunate that some of these higher prices will push some people away . But you might bring more people in because they might say , oh , that brunch place I avoid has now got organic eggs , pasture-raised eggs Now I'll eat there , and so I actually think you'd be expanding your clientele .
But the truth is , yeah , there's going to be people who can no longer afford to eat that quality and unfortunate system , and there are organizations in every community , and there are organizations in every community .
Here we have many like Sonoma Family Meal and Una Vida , who are feeding food , insecure families , high quality , delicious meals , and so there's ways to feed people like that . For me , I sit on the board of Sonoma Family Meal and Lunchette donates to Univita .
That's how I can still contribute to service that section of our community so that they're thriving too , because I don't want to just be here for people who can't afford it . I want to be here for people who can't afford it too , and that's how you do it .
You're an amazing person .
Thank you , it all feels like too little .
This is such a core part of you . It all feels like too little . This is such a core part of you .
It is , it is . It's why it's my joy , because I get to do that .
Beyond your son , potentially helping you to scale this business , whether it's franchising or opening multiple locations . What are your future plans for Lunchette in the near term ?
Right now , it's to keep trying to do what we do better . We are part of an organization called Zero Food Print , and Zero Food Print raises money to give grants to agricultural entities to either better or convert to regenerative agriculture . I would like to see that grow .
They've identified 650,000 agricultural acres in Sonoma County and they have a goal of regenerating all of it . I would love to see that happen and be part of that , and so I think over these next couple of years , it's really doubling down on all the good work and seeing if we can't do ourselves even better .
So what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs in general ?
Well , one have enough funding to get through that first year , because that first year is tough . You've put all your money into getting open . You've got to have some pockets to carry you through that first year .
We were lucky in that we had Pizza Polatama that could cover lunch at for that first year , as people got to know who we were and what we were doing . But it costs more than you think it's going to cost . The other thing is use resources like SCORE , the Senior Corps of Retired Executives . It's a free service that you can sign up for and get a mentor .
But working with SCORE before you get open is probably a better idea for creating a better plan and then again reiterating , just like being really in touch with what appeals to you . I mean , seth , I think it's interesting to go into a community and say you know what's missing . You know what's missing here . This frozen yogurt's missing .
I'm going to create a frozen yogurt tub . If it doesn't speak to you , then why do it ? It's got to be something that's in your wheelhouse . I think I read in Dr Ayanna Pressley . She's like an incredible scientist , biologist , environmental , writer and she said , like when you're looking at climate action and how you want to get involved .
Take a look at what you're good at , what brings you joy and what needs doing , and the intersection of those three things is your action . That's where you should be of those three things as your action , that's where you should be .
So if it brings you joy to like bicycles and you know that e-bikes are necessary and that you're really good at sales , then starting a bike store with e-bikes is probably a good idea .
That's a great way to look at it . I've never heard anybody approach it from that perspective before , but that makes a lot of sense .
I think so too .
So for a final question if you could go back and talk with yourself when you were in your early 20s , what wisdom would you give yourself ?
I would tell myself to probably get a therapist . To probably get a therapist , I think I like left home and went to college and hit the ground running and I never really understood how to understand who I was in relation to who I thought I should be .
And I feel like giving my kids that knowledge , whether they take it or not , because you don't have to , you know , but is have an ally there , someone who can help you with all that , because I , I think it would have helped me a lot . I was , you know , at the same time , like all the things that maybe I see as negatives , are really helpful .
And starting a business and running a business which is , I'm , very dogged and very aggressive when it comes to defending what I think is just . And so these are good things and bad things . Nothing is entirely good or bad , right , but yeah , I would probably give myself a hug and tell myself , like it's okay to not always be so strong .
You can be weak and vulnerable and that's beautiful too . Being older , we have the benefit of pattern recognition . You can't have that when you're young . You just you can't see it , you haven't seen the patterns , and so we can now help other people who are younger than us and say like well , what would you think if you did something differently than that ?
You know what would it look like .
Well , Naomi , thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your insights with all of us 100% .
I think what you're doing is great too . It's great to share wisdom .
As always , thanks for being here . Today's key takeaways If you're interested in a food business , the grab-and-go model allows for streamlined operations , less training procedures and fewer problems . A commercial kitchen can act as the engine for your business and multiple satellite locations can work off that single kitchen .
Look for ways to integrate sustainability into your business model to enhance profitability and growth . Sustainable practices can be a significant driver of success . Establish a clear mission for your business . For example , naomi's mission is to build a thriving community . Let your mission be your North Star guiding all your decisions and actions .
Actively participate in and give back to your community . Build relationships with other local businesses . Supporting them can , in turn , attract people to your location . Identify what brings you joy and purpose in life . Reflect on how you can adjust your job , business or aspirations to transform I have to go to work into . I get to go to work .
When exploring business ideas , have a clear vision . If sustainability is part of your vision , conduct thorough research before starting . This includes knowing the other businesses in your area and making sure that your concept is unique . Clearly define and communicate your business values .
Continuously ask yourself what's my purpose and be open to the evolution of your purpose over time . If feasible , consider switching to green energy . It can be cost-effective and demonstrates your commitment to a sustainable future to your customers .
¶ Continuous Improvement and Food Waste Solutions
Focus on continuous , incremental improvement in all aspects of your business . Identify what you're good at , what brings you joy and what needs doing . The intersection of these three areas is where you should focus your efforts . Lastly , recognize the significant issue of food waste , with 40% of food in the US ending up in landfills .
Consider innovative solutions to divert food waste and help feed undernourished people , turning a problem into an opportunity . That's it for today . I release episodes once a week , so come back and check it out . Have a great day .