Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Culinary arts students prepare a dish in the program's kitchen at NIC.
The Beachside Bistro, a new project being planned at North Idaho College, will create a fusion of culinary arts education and entrepreneurship training wrapped in a student-managed business.
The bistro, a mobile, summer food service operation, will be located near the NIC beach on Lake Coeur d’Alene and open to the public. It will provide a new venue for the college’s culinary arts students to gain hands-on business management experience outside the classroom.
The Beachside Bistro, a new project being planned at North Idaho College, will create a fusion of culinary arts education and entrepreneurship training wrapped in a student-managed business.
The bistro, a mobile, summer food service operation, will be located near the NIC beach on Lake Coeur d’Alene and open to the public. It will provide a new venue for the college’s culinary arts students to gain hands-on business management experience outside the classroom.
The project supports NIC’s commitment to embedding entrepreneurial education throughout the college. It also reflects a growing trend in skilled trades training – student ventures programs.
“Across the globe, many institutions like NIC have student ventures programming, giving students real-life experience through the management of campus-sanctioned and supervised businesses as part of their formal education,” said Ryan Arnold, NIC director of regional entrepreneurial strategy. “Industrial trades, digital trades and creative trades all offer opportunities for student-run businesses on campus.”
The Beachside Bistro’s launch will be funded, in large part, by a $17,000 grant NIC won last fall in the 2020 NACCE (National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship) Pitch for the Trades competition, presented in partnership with the Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation. The college was one of five nationwide to win one of these grants.'
“The entrepreneurial activity and training programs being created to support emerging opportunities in skilled trades is exciting,” said Carlene Cassidy, CEO of the Ratcliffe Foundation, in a statement following the awards announcement in October. “The pandemic has clearly not slowed these colleges as they continue to innovate and encourage entrepreneurial activity and job creation in their communities.”
Other student-run ventures beyond the culinary arts program could emerge in the future at NIC, with the development of the bistro providing a model and framework for such projects.
“North Idaho College is invested in making sure all NIC students have access to an educational experience that provides the technical and entrepreneurial skills they need to thrive in the 21st century,” Arnold said. “Whether it’s a restaurant, mechanic garage, art gallery, IT service provider or welding shop, small business ownership is a viable path to success for many of NIC’s students, especially in the rural communities the college serves.”
A grab-and-go salad created by NIC culinary arts students to sell in the program's deli.
The North Idaho College Foundation is also supporting the launch of the Beachside Bistro. The foundation awarded the project a $7,000 grant to help cover the cost of site preparation.
Sue Shibley, chair of the NIC Business and Professional Programs division, said the Beachside Bistro will not replace existing on-campus food service operations run by NIC’s culinary arts program.
“Emery’s Restaurant and the deli, both brick and mortar operations, will continue to run during the fall and spring semesters,” Shibley said. “The Beachside Bistro is an opportunity for our students to run a summer food service operation resembling a food truck because our students are very interested in pursuing food truck operations after graduation.”
Shibley said they hope to have a soft opening of the bistro sometime this summer. They plan to have Beachside Bistro fully functioning by the summer of 2022.
Story by Maureen Dolan, maureen.dolan@nic.edu
Photos by Chelsie Shackelford, chelsie.shackelford@nic.edu