554 Restaurants From the Ground Up
Hobbies & How-to | Registration opens 8/4/26 9:00 AM EDT
This class will be a complete dialog of owning and operating a full-service restaurant and/or catering business. We will discuss the pros and cons of the restaurant business, including securing financing for first time owners.
Dean Russell
4 Restaurants From the Ground Up
Dean Russell began washing dishes at age 13. Once in the kitchen he began his career with prep work and got his first real job as a cook at age 16 in downtown Knoxville at Union Café. Shortly after he moved to Kristopher & Co. where he trained to become a chef through an apprenticeship at a Mobile-rated, four-star restaurant, which was their flagship restaurant. Several years later he moved to Vero Beach, Florida before returning to this area to open his first restaurant, which was a crossover of fine dining in the evening and blue collar during the day. It was a huge success. He has opened approximately eight restaurants since that time and still operates a restaurant today.