Golden Gate Restaurant Association Launches Inaugural Industry Conference

The Golden Gate Restaurant Association is behind SF dining events like Restaurant Week and Eat Drink SF, but they're also huge advocates for local restaurants. Topics that affect restaurants at all levels, like responding to minimum wage and navigating SF's crazy rents, are part of their vocabulary.

Now they're launching an industry conference, bringing together notable industry players from the Bay Area and beyond for two days of speeches, panels, demonstrations and technique classes. Some of the topics that will be covered in the panels include best practices for funding a restaurant, rising labor costs, and growing the talent pool. And on the more hands-on side of things, there'll be workshops focused on stuff like fermented foods, sous vide cooking and beverage pairing. There will also be some pretty interesting opportunities to get up close and personal with some Bay Area talent, including a workshop on the history of sushi from Tim and Erin Archuleta (ICHI Sushi + NI Bar) and learning how to cook a modern version of poulet au pot (a rustic chicken dish) from Chris Cosentino (Cockscomb).

Also key for small businesses: a drop-in consultation lab offering on-the-spot advice on legal matters, PR, food safety and more. Check out the full list of presenters and events here. The event takes place July 26-27; tickets are $100 for GGRA members, $125 for non-members, which includes access to all of it, plus snacks and lunch.