This Spring 2026 our bootcamp will be focused on entrepreneurs looking to start a food service or restaurant business. Start a food truck open a full service restaurant, or side gig a new catering business. This is a one-day intensive for F&B entrepreneurs.
This workshop series was designed to get you up and running and ready to go into F&B entrepreneurship with your eyes open. Learn about food safety, permitting, legal requirements and more. Cost out your first recipes, learn about how food delivery systems work, build a restaurant or food budget, learn about how to evaluate a commercial lease and meet other like-minded foodie entrepreneurs.
As part of this boot camp, I&E will cover the cost for you to get your California Food Handler's card, and to get ServSafe certified - both are necessary first steps to owning and operating any food business.
Come join us and other foodie entrepreneurs for a weekend of networking and development!
Friday March 13, 2026
Restaurant Entrepreneurship BootCamp Schedule
Please note that the order of sessions will be updated and change.
| Time | Session | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. | Welcome Breakfast & Networking | Continental breakfast, coffee, teas |
| 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Market Segmentation & Customer Values | Knowing what you're selling goes hand-in-hand with who you are selling to. This session will help you determine who you are selling to, how to reach them, and how to position your product to them. |
| 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. | Break & Networking | |
| 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | The Legalities of Food Retail and Service | The legalities of the food business are arguably more intricate than those of many other businesses. |
| 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch at Taqueria Girasol | Lunch provided by the bootcamp. |
| 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Food & Beverage and Restaurant Entrepreneur Conversations | Danny Gabriner is the owner/founder of SourFlour. Learn about what he did right or wrong to get to where he is today. Q&A and networking to follow! |
| 2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | Break | |
| 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Food & Beverage and Restaurant Entrepreneur Conversations: Taqueria Girasol (Carmalina's Cafe) | Marco Ballesteros is the multi-time F&B founder and current owner/operator of Taqueria Girasol. We will get a front and back of house tour of the Taqueria facilities, and learn about how he started his business, best practices, and just what it's like to be a restaurant entretpreneur in the SF Bay Area. |
| 4:30 p.m - 5:00 p.m. | Wrap-up, next steps, networking | We'll present a list of next steps of resources and opportunities for you to take advantage of to help you get your concept off the ground. This iincludes food handlers certification, recipe testing and scheduling in the Vista Room, and professional consultation! |
Schedule Speakers Spring 2026
- Market Segmentation & Customer Values (Sybil Yang)
- The Legalities of Food Retail and Service (Mark Ciotola)
- Food & Beverage and Restaurant Entrepreneur Conversations (Danny Gabriner - SourFlour)
- Food & Beverage and Restaurant Entrepreneur Conversations (Marco Ballestros - Taqueria Girasol)
Next Step Resources:
- Take your ServSafe California Food Handlers exams! Save your receipt, and we will reimburse you (instructions below).
- Apply for a free mailbox in the HUB (HUM125) for your SFSU start-up
- If your startup is ready to take the next step, apply for the IncuGator
- If you need help with business, legal or technical consulting, visit us during open consulting hours!
- Are your ready to pitch your business idea? Think about pitching at the SFSU Innovation Pitch Competition!
- Feel like you need to learn more about entrepreneurship? There's a minor program for that: Entrepreneurship Minor.
Reimbursement Forms:
If you signed up for a ServSafe California (and/or San Diego County) Food Handlers' Certification course and exam within three months of attending the micro-entrepreneurship workshop, we will reimburse you for the cost of your certification. Email: ie @ sfsu.edu.