Burgaw, N.C.- If your dream is to one day own a restaurant, your chance could come next year in Burgaw. A one-of-a-kind competition will have local cooks competing for the rights to own an eatery in downtown Burgaw, along with up to $1 million in renovations, and possibly even a chance to be a television star.
The competition is the brain child of businessman Richard Johnson. Johnson is the founder of hotjobs.com. He sold that website to Yahoo 20 years ago for a reported $400 million. In 2019 he visited Burgaw for the first time and fell in love with the town, buying virtually all of the buildings in the downtown area. One of those properties sits vacant today, but Johnson is hoping it will soon be the site of a restaurant- maybe your dream restaurant.
“The key to any successful town is a vibrant restaurant scene, as hard as the restaurant business is,” Johnson said. “People gather around food. It brings communities together.”
The plan is to develop a series of challenges that test competitors ability to create signature dishes. They will be judged by a panel of local chefs and restaurant owners. And there is a possibility that all of it will be televised. Johnson told the Wilmington Business Journal that he is currently meeting with TV and streaming networks to determine whether the competition could work as a show.
Applications are being accepted right now until March 31st. Competitors must be 18 or older to apply. You do not need previous experience running a business.
After the deadline passes, a few dozen entries will be invited to take part in the first challenge which is tentatively scheduled for June. According to the competition’s website finalists will prepare a signature dish for local residents and judges to sample. The top-performing participants will move on to a three week competition.
Judges who have signed on to the project include Myra McDuffie of Mema’s Chick’n & Ribs, Dean Neff of Seabird Restaurant, Christi Ferretti of Pine Valley Market, and Keith Rhodes of Catch.
The winner will get a million dollar budget to renovate the space, a personal loan is available and they will own and operate the restaurant with a reasonable lease. It will not be rent free.
To learn more about the competition, and to apply, log onto Ownyourown.com.