Neighborhood restaurants are an essential part of any thriving community, a notion Duane Greenleaf, proprietor at Benchmark in Santa Ana, recognizes when he looks around the dining area of his al fresco eatery.
“Our restaurant has always been about community, from the way our menu is designed to the open concept restaurant,” said Greenleaf.
Greenleaf and his husband, Pedro Arizmendi, opened Benchmark in 2019 and the outdoor American bistro with a seasonal, shareable menu feels like an elevated backyard dinner party. The cozy atmosphere has led to the restaurant becoming a go-to place for many of the homeowners in the nearby neighborhoods.
“There are a ton of people in Floral Park, Washington Square, French Park and Santiago Park that really support us,” said Greenleaf. “Any given day, people are getting up and saying ‘hi’ to people at other tables.”
This year, the California Restaurant Foundation awarded 231 independent restaurants and local catering businesses in California $5,000 grants as part of its fifth consecutive Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. Benchmark was among the seven Orange County small food businesses to receive the grant and Greenleaf believes sharing the strong camaraderie at his outdoor dining concept in his application played a part in Benchmark getting selected.
“I wanted to be purposeful in my response,” said Greenleaf. “If we got $5,000, how would we use it in a meaningful way?”
At the top of the list for Benchmark was bonuses for leadership employees, since Greenleaf views taking care of the staff just as high a priority as taking care of the customer.
“The first thing we did was give small bonuses to the key players; retention is huge for us,” said Greenleaf. ”We rarely have [a job] opening at our restaurant because we take good care of everybody.”
The rest of the grant will go toward the expansion of the restaurant, including an indoor space adjacent to Benchmark’s current patio dining.
“Plans are going through the city now and we will use those funds to work on kitchen equipment,” Greenleaf said.
The California Restaurant Foundation is a nonprofit that remains dedicated to investing in and empowering California restaurants and their workforce. The foundation established the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund in 2021, initially conceived as a way to aid restaurants in recovering from the pandemic, when restrictions on gatherings devastated the industry.
As rising food costs, workforce challenges and other economic effects continue to create hurdles for food service, the fund continues to be a vital resource.
“The Resilience Fund has become so much more than just financial support, it’s a lifeline for local restaurant owners who put their hearts into feeding their communities, and these grants help independent operators care for their teams and invest in a future they believe in,“ Alycia Harshfield, president of the California Restaurant Foundation, said in a statement.
The grants were made possible by continued donations from the PG&E Corporation Foundation and SoCalGas, with 188 of the 231 restaurants given the funds located within Pacific Gas and Electric’s service area and 43 in SoCalGas’ territory.
“We’re deeply grateful to our utility partners for their continued dedication to uplift California’s restaurants and help them stay strong in the face of uncertainty, standing by us year after year so we can see the entire restaurant community thrive,” said Harshfield.
The sponsorship has also influenced Benchmark’s expansion.
“We are going to buy energy efficient equipment for the restaurant, which speaks to those who donated money to make this happen,” said Greenleaf.
Other Orange County restaurants who were awarded the grant include K&A Cafe and Catering located inside the Good Food Hall at Anaheim’s Center Street Promenade; 18 Folds, a modern Asian fusion concept at the Anaheim Packing District; Ceviche 19 Peruvian Kitchen in Anaheim, Esther’s Taco House in Placentia, Seal Beach’s Crema Cafe & Artisan Bakery and Laotian restaurant Nok’s Kitchen in Westminster, which was #95 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurant list last year.
At a time when many restaurants face ongoing challenges, Greenleaf said he is grateful for the California Restaurant Foundation’s efforts to champion small restaurant owners and for seeing the value in Benchmark’s work.
“I think 2,400 restaurants applied, so for us to get it is such a massive honor,” he said.