Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee Karim Webb has long been an advocate for a more equitable restaurant industry through, among other initiatives, his company 4th MVMT, which invests in entrepreneurs largely from communities of color who are overcoming trauma and lack access to capital. But his restaurant business, PCF Restaurant Management in Los Angeles, which operates four restaurants in the predominantly minority communities of Torrance, Carson, Baldwin Hills and Koreatown, generally outperforms Buffalo Wild Wings’ system as a whole.
Those two facts are not unrelated: Webb attributes his restaurants’ success to his engagement with the communities where he operates, and to the fact that the people working in those restaurants resemble the people they serve.
In this video, which is an excerpt of a conversation with him and Buffalo Wild Wings chief marketing officer Rita Patel, Webb discusses the importance of having empathy for workers and Patel reflects on what she has learned over the past year.
Webb also refers to the leadership and mentorship program that 4th MVMT launched with the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance and Pepsico.
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