How can local restaurants reach new audiences? We spoke with John Coker, the president of FoodWorks, on his insights into the business.
John Coker
President, FoodWorks
What was the inspiration behind FoodWorks?
We wanted to bring local restaurants into our operations across the country to engage our community and guests in a new way, provide exposure to new audiences, and create value and variety for our clients and guests.
What is the nature of your collaboration with local businesses?
We bring in local businesses, restaurants, candy makers, and women and minority-owned business enterprises to our corporate dining cafes, colleges, hospitals, and so on, in a retail environment. They get the opportunity to showcase their products to new audiences with no capital investment.
How do you find new partners to work with?
We have a network of field scouts in every major city in the country that recruits our partners from New York to Miami, Los Angeles to Dallas, and every city in-between. We also get a ton of referrals since the restaurant community is a very tight-knit group of talented people.