Homeboy Bakery (1988)
Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles nonprofit founded by Father Greg Boyle, started a bakery and café to employ former gang members. The operation eventually grew into a chain of social enterprise businesses.
Provided immediate jobs and skills training for at-risk youth.
Demonstrated that mission-driven restaurants can sustain themselves while serving marginalized populations.
Like Homeboy, MAKE Projects uses a commercial kitchen to train workers with employment barriers. The license is a milestone in scaling this model from pop-up to permanent.
