“There are some incredible variations of grilled cheese that she came up with,” said Turner. And Chef Sarah Masters (formerly of Barbette) helped craft the menu, putting the “gourmet” into the grilled cheese.
#JULIE KERNS JUNKIT HOW TO#
Jodi Ayers and Heather Bray, co-owners of Lowbrow (which was just named by Foursquare as one of 15 places to have a grilled cheese sandwich right now), have provided mentorship in the pragmatics of opening and running a restaurant: how to think about inventory, crunch the numbers, how to contract, design a kitchen, run a kitchen, and operate the front of the house. She’s also working with industry professionals who are offering much-needed guidance. “I really trusted the idea would work and the model would work,” she said. The door to the left will soon open into the All Square gourmet grilled cheese restaurant. Another was the successful Kickstarter campaign she launched last fall that suggested people would get behind the idea. One is from Edwins, a similar (albeit higher end) establishment in Cleveland, OH, that in seven years has shown a reduction in recidivism. Turner is well aware that restaurants are risky business and incredibly nuanced, but she’s received affirmation from a few places.
Why not be the employer who puts people with criminal records to work? Grilled cheese sandwiches are earning their rightful place on the menu. They told her, jokingly, that she should open a grilled cheese shop someday, an idea that eventually clicked. So much so, that her friends know that’s what they’ll be having if they ever eat at her place. She’s the first person to acknowledge she’s not a cook, with grilled cheese being one of the only things she’s capable of cooking. It's safe to say Turner never dreamed she'd be running a restaurant. Considering that about two-thirds of people who are released are rearrested within three years, according to the National Institute of Justice, Turner wants to give people an opportunity to work to remove that significant barrier to reentry after serving time. But Turner, citing Emily Baxter’s aptly named book, “We Are All Criminals,” maintains that the number of people who have broken the law and should have a record but don’t is much higher.
Feeling like we’ve actually devolved in civil rights, she wanted to be able to answer “Yes” to the question: “Systemically, are you part of the solution?”Ībout one in three adults, or roughly one hundred million people, are said to have criminal records, which limits their access to employment. “There weren’t any remedies we could provide,” she said. As a whole, the system was overly punitive. A civil rights attorney with a background in criminal justice and work on fair housing issues, it was unbelievable to her how many people with records could not access housing. The idea came from a place of feeling pretty helpless, Turner said. The name itself refers not just to the shape of the sandwiches, but to the idea that, once you’ve paid your debt to society, you’re “all square.”
#JULIE KERNS JUNKIT PROFESSIONAL#
The little brick building on the corner of 41st and Minnehaha Ave., easily spotted by the rocking horse, hanging bicycle and an assortment of old chairs on the sidewalk, will soon be housing All Square-a gourmet grilled cheese restaurant with a social purpose.įounded by Emily Hunt Turner (photo right, provided), All Square aims to reduce recidivism by giving people with criminal records a better chance at successful reentry through work and professional development.
0 kommentar(er)
