CENTRAL SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A program in El Paso County is offering local restaurant owners mentorship, community connections, and a cash boost — with no loan required.
Exponential Impact (XI) is now accepting applications for the XI Survive & Thrive 2027 SPICE Program, which is an initiative designed to help restaurants across El Paso County thrive.
Instead of traditional loans, the program buys between $3,000 and $17,500 worth of gift cards from participating restaurants and distributes them to the community through local nonprofits. Those gift cards eventually find their way back to the restaurant, bringing in new customers — and new revenue. The restaurants also receive a stipend.
"Those gift cards will then go out into the community and the various nonprofits, which is helpful to the community. In any case, those gift cards will end up back in the restaurant, so they're getting new customers, getting a cash injection. That's like a perfect thing. I think it's a win," Eric Brenner said.
Owners also must attend a six week cohort of other local restaurant owners. But Brenner says it is worth it.
Brenner is the chef and owner of Red Gravy restaurant and a mentor for the SPICE Program. He says the goal is to help restaurant owners identify their own gaps — or "blind spots" — before they become costly problems.
"People might be really good at their job and think they can open a restaurant and they do and they have some success, but they may have a blind spot in say accounting or marketing or even creating a menu," Brenner said.
He says there is one key factor to having a successful business: consistency.
"It's just a matter of listening to your guests at that point and giving them what they want, and just doing it consistently. Consistency is really rewarded in the city and I think a lot of businesses aren't set up necessarily for that," Brenner said.
The program also includes coaching on negotiating leases and finding the right location.
Samantha Lang knows firsthand what it feels like to watch restaurants come and go. The owner of Cacao Chemistry was part of the first cohort of the SPICE Program.
"I have seen so much turnover, people coming and going all the time and it's a shame too, because I see some of them suffering from pain points that, I'm like, I know what you could do about that! I wish I could jump in and help you but you're not asking me. More programs like this would be really beneficial," Lang said.
Lang says the struggle of running a small business in a competitive city is very real.
"I know it's a mid-sized city, but it can feel really big. Sometimes you feel a little bit like a number, you see competition popping up all around you, and you just sometimes you can feel like you're drowning," Lang said.
But the program helped change that perspective. Lang says she didn't just receive guidance on how to keep growing her chocolate shop — she also made community connections with other downtown restaurants.
"To be in a room with a lot of the movers and shakers who have been in this for a really long time was transformative."
Lang said.
Businesses can apply now to participate in the SPICE Program. Applications close Nov. 1.
