Episode 11: Golden Gate Restaurant Association

Other Episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105

GGRestaurant Assoc SF Restaurant Week.jpg

Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s SF Restaurant Week, Eat Drink SF, Saucy Awards

Stay updated on future episodes and issues that matter

“I think I have found my Tribe”

In this episode we feature the voice of Laurie Thomas, the Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association has been around since 1936 and has supported the efforts of local small business owners to address such issues as collective labor agreements, racketeering and food rationing during World War Two. Over the decades the association helped its members market their restaurants through creating an annual Dining Guide, and setting up a purchasing guide along with group insurance and workers compensation programs. The Association’s education program offers the only Food Safety training of its kind in the State of California by partnering with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and is a Certified Test Site Administrator with the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals along with proctoring the Food Manager Certification Exam.

Laurie Thomas

What started as a personal love of food and a side business venture as a restaurant investor turned into a full career for Laurie Thomas, owner of Nice Ventures, which currently owns and manages two successful restaurants in San Francisco: Rose’s Café and Terzo. In January 2020 Thomas took on the Acting Executive Director for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, a nonprofit trade organization focused on helping bay area restaurants survive and thrive.

Her previous 13 years of GGRA Board of Director experience plus her 20+ years experience owning/operating restaurants in San Francisco made this a perfect fit for Thomas. Prior to becoming a restaurateur, she earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, an MBA from Harvard Business School and held senior management positions at several enterprise software companies in Silicon Valley. When she is not working or eating in her restaurants, Thomas is committed to giving back to the San Francisco community.

In July 2019 Thomas joined the SF Travel Association Board, which works to promote San Francisco as a top travel destination. She is a member of the honorary board of Meals on Wheels; a SF non-profit focused on feeding the elderly and was a founding member of the Friends of Larkin Street, a sub-board of Larkin Street, focused on fundraising for at-risk youth. She also volunteers for non-profits through the HBS Community Partners. In her spare time, Thomas enjoys skiing, hiking and traveling with her husband, golden retriever and rescue cat.

The Golden Gate Restaurant Association

The Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA) was founded in 1936 by a group of San Francisco restaurateurs who recognized the need for an organization to speak on behalf of the local restaurant industry. It was an instant success: by early 1937, the organization grew so large it incorporated, passed by-laws, and elected officers.

Early issues GGRA addressed included racketeering and collective labor agreements — even the impact of food rationing during World War II. Over time, GGRA moved into marketing, producing the annual Dining Guide & and Purchasing Guide, and education, by establishing a scholarship foundation. GGRA made group purchases of insurance and worker’s compensation, before those laws made it difficult for associations to do so. And of course, GGRA brought the concerns of its members to legislators while keeping its members abreast of industry-related issues.

We exist to advocate for restaurants’ unique interests. We do that within the corridors of City Hall and through year-round education and training programs to make sure our members are apprised of evolving legislation and stay in compliance. We celebrate and showcase our members through great annual events like Eat Drink SF and SF Restaurant Week.

Membership

Find out more about the GGRA and to learn about the benefits of membership.

Videos

To find out more about how GGRA is working with restaurants check out this video:

Stay updated on future episodes and issues that matter

“What happens when the hotels are closed? When we don’t have the restaurants functioning, you know, what does that mean for life in the city? Where we all need to decide, how do we support the businesses? So we might have to make some policy decisions about how to support restaurants, who have classically no margin. ”

— Laurie Thomas, Executive Director, Golden Gate Restaurant Association

Our Sponsorship

We are fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. If you want to send us a check, please make checks payable to Intersection for the Arts and write [Voices of the Community] in the memo line of your check. This ensures that you’ll receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes, and your donation will be available for our project.