Beyond Gender-Washing. Competitors’ Collaboration of 700+ Let’s Talk Womxn Restaurateurs to Boost Businesses Grows. Impact across 18 cities. 12 Nationwide Let’s Talk & Celebrate WHM Events.

CHICAGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Sustained Rapid Growth: Since its 2020 launch with 15 Chicago women restaurateurs, Let’s Talk Womxn (LTW) is now 700+ women restaurateurs nationwide with 80+ in Chicago alone. It has expanded to thirteen US cities: Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Atlanta, AZ/Phoenix, Greater NY, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Miami, Minneapolis– St. Paul, Houston, Milwaukee, Columbus. It launches two new cities, Detroit and Toronto in March. LTW also launched three more cities: LTW LA morphed into Re:Her, Philadelphia merged into Sisterly Love, and DC evolved into DC Women in Food. It is founded and led by Rohini Dey, Ph.D., former World Bank economist and McKinsey consultant, now restaurateur Vermilion, Chicago. Each LTW city is nourished by 2-5 leading women restaurateur cohosts. See all 44 national cohosts on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com. Says Dey, “Let’s Talk Womxn is our magical action movement to boost each other. None of us are paid to do this, it is true giving back to each other. I marvel at the positivity we have unleashed, what we accomplish together, and can’t wait to see where this journey takes us.”

What Let’s Talk Womxn is NOT: Let’s Talk Womxn is not an organization, it has no dues, no exclusiveness to join (open to all women owners), and no bureaucracy (all peers). It has no overheads (no CEO, staff), unlike many conventional associations and foundations who drain millions claiming to help members. LTW does not impoverish members by asking them to participate in charity or below-cost initiatives. It does not undertake pedantic “expert” sessions, webinars, and seminars, of which there is a surfeit. It is not for just the “chosen few” favored by media, TV, the PR machine and industry, the same names who are asked to headline all events.

Nationwide 12 WHM 2023 Celebrations March 1-8: Let’s Talk Womxn is hosting 12 nationwide “Let’s Talk & Celebrate” WHM bashes, collaborations by 10-30+ women owners in each city to showcase and celebrate women gourmet power with tastings stations, DJs, women power cocktails, speakers, drag shows and more. Details are on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com.

Unique Business-Building Parity Model: The Let’s Talk Womxn movement focuses on boosting business building for its women restaurateurs and entrepreneurs in five ways:

1. Learn with monthly deep dive sessions across key business areas. Most women entrepreneurs are isolated and not large hospitality groups. These sessions are invaluable to share best practices within peers for real ongoing learning, alongside sharing concrete sources, and referrals of vendors, grants, clients, and opportunities.
2. Amplify visibility. LTW initiatives range from panels, keynotes, forums with partners and cross-promotion of each other with city and national events. These generate media and high visibility for members. See collaborations on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com.
3. Boost the bottom line. All revenue from LTW events, tickets, and sponsorships is allocated to members. There is zero holdback for overheads or endowments.
4. Amplify growth aspirations. Members always leave LTW sessions inspired by the actions and plans of each other. LTW builds bonds among peers, enables women entrepreneurs to overcome isolation, stay the course and grow.
5. Combining heft. Upcoming initiatives will focus on combining purchasing power.

Champion Women Entrepreneurs Beyond March Gender-Washing: Let’s Talk Womxn restaurateurs are all owners, employers and tastemakers with a mass following at the intersection of dining, consumer, and retail. LTW has been backed by Ulta Beauty, Toast, Discover, IFMA, UAL, Middleby, SpotOn, city entities (CVBs and SRAs), and by Sysco. It is open to working with all partners who genuinely want to champion women entrepreneurs.

“Sustained backing of Let’s Talk Womxn entrepreneurs and restaurateurs by Sysco is exemplary, concrete and goes well beyond the March gender-washing we generally encounter,” says founder Dey. In the last two years, Sysco has worked actively with LTW to:

• Sponsor the launch of two LTW new cities, Detroit & Toronto 2023
• Sponsor and moderate LTW panels & events (Making Our Industry Better 2022, Let’s Talk Change Summit 2022, Picnic in White 2021)
• Create content with LTW (Owning the Kitchen 2021)
• Champion LTW national initiatives. WHM “Let’s Talk & Celebrate” 2022 & 2023.
• Share the LTW model internally within Sysco. LTW founder Dey global keynote for Sysco IWD 2023. Teams and corporate leaders attend LTW events.

More on Let’s Talk Womxn: You can see more on these segments (Today Show, Good Morning America, WGN NewsNation), or on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com. LTW is lauded in the Top 50 Power List NRN at inception and as NRN Top 25 Most Influential Women alongside awards for its innovative collaborative approach and leadership. LTW has keynoted forums across sectors, countries and within corporations to share its unique B3 model by competitors for empowerment, a model that applies to all entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. 

SOURCE Let’s Talk Womxn (LTW)