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industree to cook up collaboration, networking among DC restaurants
By Rebecca Cooper , Washington Business Journal
April 22, 2013
After several years working in various areas of the food and beverage industry around D.C., Alisia Kleinmann had an idea. What if some of the local food and beverage industry's biggest guns shared their war stories with aspiring restaurateurs and entrepreneurs?
As it turned out, the concept was pretty popular. Kleinmann organized a Rockville Chamber of Commerce event in January featuring former Matchbox owner Perry Smith and restaurateur Robert Weidmaier, and almost 100 people turned out to fill the conference room where it was held.
"They basically just told stories — lessons learned along the way, mistakes made, the drama of opening a restaurant," Kleinmann said. "And it really appealed to so many people."
That was the genesis of industree, a newly formed restaurant industry speaker series and networking group showcasing the spirit of entrepreneurship in the restaurant business that will hold its inaugural event May 14 at the Hamilton in downtown D.C. Kleinmann, the group's founder, already has support from sponsors — including her employer, a commercial insurance firm — and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, the trade group representing many of the city's food and beverage businesses.
