ESOPs and Sustainable Restaurant Culture

4 Min Read By MRM Staff

Denver-based chef Justin Cucci has long been a champion for sustainability at his farm-to table eateries. To date, he has opened six restaurants and venues, turning a former mortuary, gas station and brothel all into restaurants with globally inspired locally sourced menus. Cucci also wanted to create a sustainable culture for his employees and implemented a self-funded 100-percent employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) so his 325-plus Edible Beats employees will now share in the long-term financial worth of the company.

To learn more about the pros and cons of putting an ESOP into place, Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine reached out to Cucci. 

How did the idea of Employee Stock Ownership originate and why did you want to do it?The idea had been kicked around almost five years prior to the ESOP transaction, in 2017. We had finished building brick & mortar restaurants, and my advisors asked me to think about a succession plan and look ahead to the next chapter of the…