Seocho-gu Recruiting Businesses Interested in Participating in the 'Our Neighborhood Restaurant Consulting Support Project'

This Year’s Pilot Project Opens Public Recruitment for 20 Locations in Bangbae Station Food Alley Until the 30th... Transforming Owners’ Management DNA through Experiential Specialized Consulting, Facility Environment Improvement, and Small Business Academy Operations

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seocho-gu (Mayor Eunhee Jo) is recruiting participating businesses for the ‘Our Neighborhood Restaurant Consulting Support Project’ until the 30th to help strengthen the competitiveness and increase sales of local commercial districts that have been stagnated due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The district is promoting this project through a business agreement with the Seocho branch of the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation and plans to select 20 dining establishments located in the ‘Bangbae Station Food Alley,’ chosen by the Seocho-gu public-private-local council.

Professional consultants from external specialized organizations such as the Credit Guarantee Foundation and the Korea Foodservice Industry Association will conduct the consulting. Preliminary diagnosis and management instructors will visit the business sites directly to comprehensively assess management status, and a youth experience group composed of local young people will evaluate taste and service to set the direction for consulting support.

The first phase of consulting will be conducted as practical, taste-centered mentoring, including ?transferring core know-how from professional chefs ?providing improvement plans for existing recipes ?supporting new menu development. The second phase will provide prescriptions for internalizing management mindset to improve competitiveness, including store presentation and environment improvement, food hygiene, and customer service enhancement.

Additionally, after the consulting is completed, support will be provided for environmental improvements such as interior renovations within the business premises.

Furthermore, a small business owners’ meeting will be held to conduct satisfaction surveys and listen to difficulties, discussing sustainable growth plans, with plans to expand support to other alley commercial districts through future feedback.

Alongside this, the district will intensively operate the ‘Small Business Owners Academy’ course to nurture businesses into competitive restaurants within a short period.

Customized online courses reflecting on-site demands will be opened, covering management areas such as SNS marketing, meal kit development, and online sales platform utilization, as well as legal and tax fields.

Moreover, benefits will be provided to participating businesses, including rapid financing of long-term low-interest working capital through special local credit guarantee support and operation of dedicated consultation channels.

Applications for the ‘Our Neighborhood Restaurant Consulting Support Project,’ which is being promoted as a pilot project this year, are open until June 30th, and small business owners in the food service industry located in Bangbae Station Food Alley are eligible to apply. During screening, applicants’ experience in the food service industry, ownership status, business period, sales status, store size, detailed business introduction, and items will be strictly evaluated.

Detailed information about recruitment can be found on the Seocho-gu Office website under notices and announcements.

Seocho-gu Mayor Eunhee Jo stated, “Just as our body’s blood circulation must be smooth to maintain health, the local economy is revitalized when the alley commercial districts, the economic capillaries, are vibrant and solid. We will make greater efforts to create competitive and capable alley commercial districts to revive the local economy, which has been stagnated due to COVID-19.”