Yesterday, I read A Conversation About Black Entrepreneurship with the Co-Owner of Konjo Ethiopian Food from 5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine. Fetien Gebre-Michael, provides her account as an immigrant, a woman, and a person of color doing business in the Denver metro. I appreciated her candor and her continued faith in the American dream. It is because of that faith, the same faith that pulls individuals to the United States, that I am honored to serve native born and immigrant businesses.

Then I stumbled upon this article from March 2019, DoorDash Launches Kitchens Without Borders to Assist Restaurants Owned by Immigrants and Refugees which caught my attention. It says:

…the third-party food delivery service [DoorDash] announced Kitchens Without Borders, an initiative that supports restaurants founded by immigrants and refugees. The goal is to highlight the entrepreneurs’ stories behind these businesses while also building awareness for what are often resourced-strapped businesses.

DoorDash’s cofounder and CEO, Tony Xu provided: 

“DoorDash’s mission has always been to connect people with possibility by creating valuable opportunities for entrepreneurs to reach new audiences,” he wrote in a blog post... “For immigrant communities facing heightened barriers to success, that goal has become even more important — and for me, it’s at the heart of the [DoorDash]’s story.” 

On the Kitchens Without Borders (KWB) channel, DoorDash spotlights the unique immigrant stories of restaurant entrepreneurs like Dr. Padmini Aniyan, co-owner of Mayura Indian Restaurant, “the only restaurant in Southern California serving the bold, spice rich flavors from the southern state of Kerala, India” and Ali Ozturg, owner and chef of West Park Farm & Sea serving homestyle Turkish recipes. These spotlights dive into business and the personal drive of these inspiring and successful restaurateurs. There are pictures, quotes and videos about each restaurants and their immigrant owner featured. DoorDash also offers restaurants that are noted as Kitchens Without Borders other perks, marketing promotions, and business advisory services.

While most of these restaurants are in larger markets – KWB started in San Francisco and quickly expanded to Los Angeles and Chicago – anyone can use KWB as part of a DoorDash search. A quick search of DoorDash for my area did pull three restaurants that have the recognition and they are added to my list of places to order from or get out to.

Immigrants and immigration are an important part of the building the continued strength of the United States. The American dream is alive and well, if you are one still working hard to reach your dream, all of my service offerings are provided with the highest and best in mind for the creation of a successful business, a life well lived, and a legacy well planned.