Meghan McConaghy Chane of Riverside County, California is the first Home Cook to be granted a permit to open a home restaurant in the United States. Chane found her passion for cooking after working full time as a therapist. She quickly came to love cooking but was unsure how to profit from her passion.
“I was too afraid to work on a food venture before this,” said Chane. “We’d talked about a food truck, catering, or a restaurant. The fear of the financial risk and the money you need up front, as well as all of the regulation and hoop jumping, felt really overwhelming.”
Chane learned about the opportunity to open a Home Restaurant, when she received support from the food-focused startup, Foodnome. Their platform brings Home Cooks and Diners together and allows them to easily explore diverse cuisines in their local community. Foodnome is also dedicated to helping Home Cooks navigate the legal waters to become permitted.
“Foodnome really helped me achieve my dream of starting a food business,” said Chane. “They provided a ton of support, guidance and lots of useful information. I’m happy to be a part of their community so I can help bring my neighborhood together.”
Akshay Prabhu, founder of Foodnome is excited for Chane and her accomplishment. “We are proud to support Meghan through her journey and we are eager to open doors to other potential Home Cooks,” said Prabhu. “We believe Home Restaurants will have a large impact on our economy by empowering everyday people to make additional income through their passion.”
Chane’s opportunity to open a Home Restaurant is unique as California is the only state in the country that has legalized Home Restaurants with the passing of bill AB 626 earlier this year.
“We were thrilled when AB 626 went into effect at the state level earlier this year,” said Prabhu. “There is however still a lot of work to be done. Each county’s board of supervisors must opt-in to the bill before Home Cooks can benefit from it, that is why we provide key resources to Home Restaurant advocates.”
If you are a California resident and you want to support Home Restaurants, visit: https://foodnome.com/ab-626 to send your local county’s board of supervisors a pre-written email to opt-in to the Homemade Food Operations Act.
If you would like to dine at a Home Restaurant or learn more about opening a Home Restaurant, go to Foodnome.com.
About Foodnome: Foodnome is an innovative platform that brings people together and connects communities through authentic, healthy, home-cooked food and culture. They make it easy for passionate Home Cooks to launch their Home Restaurants and gather hungry Diners in their neighborhood. To learn more about Foodnome, visit: https://foodnome.com.
