ALIST WSW 2022 Project
Save Portland Restaurants
In 2022, Federal assistance fell short of what the independent restaurant industry needed, leaving behind nearly 200,000 businesses. To help our local women chefs stay afloat and to battle the isolation all business owners were feeling, we volunteered time as a collective WSW power to organize monthly founder meetups at women-owned restaurants and spotlight businesses on our social media.
10 different locations. 10 unique experiences. 10 deliciously diverse meals. For 10 months in a row, we connected the PNW boss women community and sold over 600 tickets. This event series distributed $28,416.74 across 30+ women-owned businesses, a majority WOC, while keeping founders inspired & motivated in the middle of a pandemic.
The amplifier effect from this simple idea inspires us to think of more ways to help the community in 2023. We can’t wait to see the impact we’re going to make together. Donate today.
As Featured On
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Koin 6 News
Local women business owners build connections with monthly meetups. Watch video
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Portland Business Journal
How a monthly meal helps women business owners and builds community. Read the September 2022 or April 2022 article.
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Portland Monthly Magazine
Ripping the City with Amanda Mailey, founder of Women Supporting Women. Read the December 2022 article.
Special thank you to our donors and those who sponsored us in 2022.
November Meet Up
Our 10th and final meet up of 2022 was held on November 30th, 2022 at Wapato Island Farm, a Latina woman-owned, 32-acre working farm located on Wapato Island (Sauvie Island) in Portland, Oregon. During Native American Heritage Month and every day, we recognize this sacred land was lived on by the Multnomah Tribe before colonization.
50 women-identifying founders came together to enjoy the delicious lunch prepared by Maria Juan, chef and owner of La Akateka Mayan Food. Maria was born in Huehuetenango, Guatemala and raised by her Mayan indigenous tribe. She moved to the US in 2000 and began selling her traditional Mayan dishes on the weekends in 2020. She hopes to open her own food cart next year if she can raise the money. We were also treated to ceremonial cocoa served by Gabriella Gonzalez of Sky Above Trail Grub and a knowledge share of winter wellness rituals.
We were fortunate to have PSU, Center for Women's Leadership and Constellation Brands as our sponsors to deliver this uniquely curated experience.
October Meet Up
Meet up #9 was very personal to me. For the first time, I had a real platform to celebrate Filipina/o/x American History Month. On October 19, 2022, 60+ women founders were hosted by the wonderful Christine Hopkins, co-owner and CEO of Aimsir Distilling Co.
In celebration of Filipina/o/x History Month, we invited chef and owner Alexandria "Allie" Guevarra of Allie G's Pastries to design a custom Filipinx plant-based menu for our lunch. Allie began selling her Filipinx baked goods in 2020 at pop ups and markets all over Portland. She was also a featured chef at Taste for Equity 2021.
Last but not least, Marchel Marcos joined us at the event. In addition to being a female founder, Marchel is the political director at Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO). Through her partnership, APANO was our sponsor for the meet up.
Together we distributed $4,245 to 4 women-owned businesses in 1.5 hours to treat 60 women founders to lunch, connection and inspiration. Plus, three Filipina small business owners were given the stage to share the history they uniquely represent in our city. I continue to be in awe of the profound impact we can make when we organize our collective power!
September Meet Up
Meet Up #8, in a space built to hype up women in sports, just felt pretty magical. On September 28, 2022, 50+ women founders gathered at The Sports Bra to be hosted by the owner Jenny Nguyen and in celebration of Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month we featured Rebecca Smith's Ice Queen Paletas as dessert. It was another inspiring afternoon and we were lucky to hear Jenny tell her story of quick stardom after her opening this past spring and how Rebecca is about to open her flagship store next month.
In one lunch hour, we brought in $1350 to The Sports Bra and $200 to Ice Queen. This was paid for in part by the gofundme and our sponsors, PACCO and Energy Trust of Oregon. Jenny said, that's the most they have done on a Wednesday lunch hour. This was the 1st time at The Sports Bra for nearly everyone and they all said they WILL BE BACK! Ticket sales + sponsors brought in $1640 to go towards the 6K cost of organizing the event. That’s $3,190 distributed to 3 WOC owned businesses.
Connecting with everyone once again for lunch helped me realize this isn’t a networking event. This is a support group. Kinda like AA for female entrepreneurs.
August Meet Up
On August 31, 2022, we hosted a red carpet WSW Summer Party for the first time at Capitol Bar to show love to owner Dessiree Guy and the recent passing of her fiancé and co-owner Kevin McDowell. It was a true all women-led celebration with not one, but two female DJs (Krystal Martos and Shay Baca) and we were treated to the talented Niema Lightseed and La Toya Hampton who performed spoken word and Victoria "iVy" Powell sang a few songs as a donation to the event.
We featured drinks from local women-owned brands Royalty Spirits, Gonzales Wine Co., and Aimsir Distilling. We also raffled off gift baskets designed by Donneshya Stone of Crystal and Stone Events utilizing donations received from 25+ women-owned small businesses in our community. Jessica Vanterpool from Fli Social captured the event once again. Last but not least, Sushmita Poddar offered henna designs to interested attendees and Kelly Rae hosted a DIY flower hair clip station. There was no budget for this event. 40 women donated between 45-50K worth of time, goods, and services to make this night happen. We also kept our ticket prices to $15 to make it as accessible as possible for attendees. With over 200 in attendance, the evening was a real tribute to how we can take care of each other.
July Meet Up
With July being our 6 month anniversary, we wanted to do something special. On July 27, 2022, Ketsuda (Nan) Chaison of Mestizo hosted 51 women to a delicious lunch paid for by the Treat a Boss campaign.
While enjoying lunch, we had Nan and past WSW hosts (Trang Nguyen of Friendship Kitchen, Erica Montgomery of Erica’s Soul Food, Kate Williams of Kate's Ice Cream and Judith Stokes of Derby) on one powerhouse panel sharing what WSW means to them. Jenny Dinh Safransky, owner of JDS Projects, graciously offered to moderate the hour discussion and Jessica Vanterpool from Fli Social captured the event. Lastly, Kelly Rae of The Petal Dispatch donated flowers.
Together, we brought in $1,524 in sales to the Mestizo staff during a typically slow period in their week. $900 was paid for out of the gofundme for the meal and the additional $624 was from drink orders. Although Luna from Chelo wasn't able to serve her dessert, we did gift her the $300 from the gofundme to help relieve financial pressure she's feeling while recovering from covid.
10 women collaborated to create a memorable and inspirational experience we hope to repeat again.
June Meet Up
The June Meet up was hosted by Judith Stokes of Derby on June 22, 2022. For the first time we expanded beyond food and beverage to also included wellness brands. It was perfect timing with Roe v. Wade being overturned. 5 women-owned businesses collaborated to host a brunch + tea + yoga + cupping event for 33 women entrepreneurs.
A beautiful standing series was led by Rachel Brooks of Seeking Space Yoga and Dr. Danielle Reghi of Cupping Studio helped many relieve weight they didn’t even know they were carrying. The Aesthete Tea donated by Briana Thornton was a refreshing pairing with the 78 degree day on the Derby patio. Together, we brought in $880 for the delicious brunch + added funds from the no host bar.
May Meet Up
May’s Meet Up was hosted by owner and creator Kate Williams of Kate's Ice Cream. 25 women gathered for an Ice Cream Social + Lunch on May 25, 2022. This was the day after the shootings in Uvalde, TX and on the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. All the faces I encountered weren’t denying the hurt in their hearts, but they were taking a minute to take care of their spirit.
Kate and Lisa Nguyen from HeyDay teamed up to create a rice flour waffle ice cream sandwich and we brought in a bento box lunch from Thuy Pham of Mama Đút. Nearly $1000 was distributed across all 4 women owned businesses in one lunch hour. $658 of that came from community donations. 3 of the businesses are AAPI owned, which was special to me with it being AAPI heritage month.
April Meet Up
April’s Meet Up was hosted by chef and owner Erica Montgomery of Erica’s Soul Food on May 4, 2022. Due to Erica recovering from Covid, the meet up was postponed by a week. You've probably seen her on the cover of Willamette Week and featured in just about every media outlet for her delicious Atlanta Soul Food.
21 small biz owners were treated to a much needed break to just be, while the headlines circulated about Roe vs. Wade. Together, we brought in $500 and paid in one transaction using the money raised from the new Treat a Boss fundraiser. Kamelah Adams of Mimi’s Fresh Tees also gifted each attendee her new “I’m gonna win, when we all win” statement tee with the help of her sponsors ¿Por Qué No? Taqueria.
March Meet Up
March’s Meet Up was hosted by owner Trang Nguyen of Friendship Kitchen on March 31, 2022. You might have seen her in Forbes magazine’s list of 13 New Asian-Owned Portland Restaurants to Eat At Right Now.
31 small biz owners gathered on the patio to enjoy a delicious Vietnamese lunch and the company of one another. Together, we brought in over $850 in sales for Trang during a time she needed it most. Just weeks prior, cash from her register was stolen twice and her roof got water damage from the rain storm. Portland Business Journal even featured our story.
February Meet Up
Our first WSW Meet Up was hosted by chef and owner Nikeisah Newton of Meals 4 Heels on February 23, 2022. She was recently featured in Willamette Week spotlighting the work she does for the sex worker community.
18 small biz owners gathered for the first time and the effect it had on all of us is what turned this idea into a regular meet up. Together, we brought in $250 in sales for Nikeisah during her slow season and Black History Month.