Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute

Last year, I saw the Oscar nominated documentary called Knife Skills. It’s about Edwins, a French restaurant in Cleveland. But it’s not an extraordinary story because the restaurant is French. It’s extraordinary because everyone who works there was formerly incarcerated and recruited to go through Edwins re-entry program. It’s a movie about training and leadership for men and women finding their way after prison.

Today, I visited Edwins. Twice, actually. First, I visited for an open house at noon. We toured the facility and met the owner (and star of the movie), but also visited the Leadership Institute, which has a dorm and offers an amazing range of support structures for Edwins trainees. Soon, they’ll have a butcher shop, too. Then, I went back for dinner. The food was great and the service even better.