Atlanta

Boston

Chicago

Cincinnati

Columbus

Detroit

Greater NY

Houston

Louisville & Lexington

Miami

Milwaukee

Minneapolis – St. Paul

Phoenix

Seattle

Toronto

Let's Talk Womxn - Entrepreneurs. Food & Drink.
Let's Talk Womxn - Entrepreneurs. Food & Drink.

LET’S TALK IS A COLLABORATION OF WOMEN RESTAURATEURS TO BUILD COMBINED ECONOMIC POWER. IT IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION, IT IS NOT AN ENTITY, IT IS AN ACTION-LED MOVEMENT BY WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS AS PEERS.

City Cohosts

Denise-Taylor---Bonfire-Win
Denise Taylor
Houston
Melissa-Guzman---The-Caribe
Melissa Guzman
Miami
Josie-Smith---Bubbles-&-Pea
Josie Smith
Miami
lisaandlindseyrusch
Lindsey & Lisa Rusch
Columbus
Anne Quatrano
Anne Quatrano
Atlanta
Heather-Bublick---Soul-&-Sm
Heather Bublick
Chicago
Kavita-Kumar---Thai-Chili-2
Kavita Kumar
Arizona
Josalyn-Holmes---Royal-Tea-
Josalyn Holmes
Atlanta
ShaVonne-McCants---Edible-E
ShaVonne McCants
Atlanta
Michelle-Allen---MMELO-Bout
Michelle Allen
Columbus
Lisa-Gutierrez---Dos-Herman
Lisa Gutierrez
Columbus
Liz-Joy---Joy-Ice-Cream-Soc
Liz Joy
Milwaukee
Nicki-Laborie---Bar-Reyna--
Nicki Laborie
Toronto
Kate-Taylor-Martin---Nutbar
Kate Taylor Martin
Toronto
Thy-Mitchell---Traveler's-T
Thy Mitchell
Houston
Deborah VanTrece
Deborah Van Trece
Atlanta
Rosa Thurnher
Rosa Thurnher
Atlanta
Jen Ziskin
Jen Ziskin
Boston
Nancy Cushman
Nancy Cushman
Boston
ancy Matheson-Burns - Let's Talk Womxn - Boston
Nancy Matheson-Burns
Boston
Julia Shell - The Dandy Crown
Julia Shell
Chicago
Rohini Dey - Vermillion
Rohini Dey
Chicago
Carla Chalkley
Carla Chalkley
Cincinnati
Joby Bowman
Joby Bowman
Cincinnati
Let's Talk Womxn - Teri Graber
Terri Graber
Cincinnati
Let's Talk Womxn - Columbus - Paula Haines
Paula Haines
Columbus
Rohani-Foulkes---Folk
Rohani Foulkes
Detroit
Alli Jarrett
Alli Jarrett
Houston
Sharon Haynes
Sharon Haynes
Houston
Anne Shadle - Let's Talk Womxn - Kentucky
Anne Shadle
Let's Talk Womxn - Brie Golliher
Brie Golliher
Louisville & Lexington
Ouita Michel
Ouita Michel
Louisville & Lexington
milwaukee-Anomalous-Campbell
Anomalous Campbell
Milwaukee
Dana Spandet
Dana Spandet
Milwaukee
Marilupe Moreno
Marilupe Moreno
Milwaukee
Desta Maree Klein
Desta Maree Klein
Minneapolis - St. Paul
Barbara Sibley
Barbara Sibley
Greater NY
Maricel Presilla
Maricel Presilla
Greater NY
greater-ny-May-Fridel
May Fridel
Greater NY
Let's Talk Womxn - Naama Tamir
Naama Tamir
Greater NY
Brooke Maynard-Perez
Brooke Maynard-Perez
Seattle
Kat Cirar
Kat Cirar
Seattle
MacKenzie DeVito
MacKenzie DeVito
Seattle
chicago-Kate Vrijmoet necessary & sufficient coffee
Kate Vrijmoet
Chicago
Jacqueline-Nicosia---ARDO,-
Jacqueline Nicosia
Toronto
Angela-Lawrence---Chubby's-
Angela Lawrence
Toronto

National Collaborations

#1 Chicago Womxn Hangout LTW

Chicago Womxn Hangout. By Let’s Talk Womxn. With Partners United Airlines, Sysco, BCG, McKinsey, Toast, BMO. And WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago Womxn Hangout. By Let’s Talk Womxn. With Partners United Airlines, Sysco, BCG, McKinsey, Toast, BMO. And WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.


Format: 5-8pm. Thursdays. Soapboxes. Food. Drink. Conversation. At Vermilion.

Dates & Champions: 11/16 United Airlines, 11/30 Sysco, 12/7 BCG, 12/14 McKinsey & Co., 12/21 Toast, 12/28 BMO

Goal: Come together across silos. Create a community for Chicago professional women to meet across all walks and levels. Showcase Chicago’s leading Let’s Talk Womxn restaurateurs and rich cuisine. Come for the conversation, hear four powerful soapboxes by marquee Chicago personas, throw your hat in the ring for a soapbox, see “Behind the Business” chats with two featured Let’s Talk Womxn restaurateurs with LTW founder Dey, try complimentary LTW tastings, enjoy diva music & women-power cocktails. Informal. Easy. Weekly. Cash bar & food. Bring colleagues and friends. No tickets, no rsvp, no fuss. Just show up.

Soapboxes: Four 3-minute open mics on: Personal Crossroads. Power. Happiness. Our Democracy.

See more at: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkwomxnchi/

Details about featured guest below.


hangout2-7

Chicago Womxn Hangout Featured List

Chicago Womxn Hangout Featured List

Rohini Dey, Vermilion, Indian-Chinese, LTW Founder/Host

11/16 Laurence Noguier – French

11/16 Taylor Mason – Tacos

11/30 Heather Bublick – Soul & Smoke BBQ

11/30 Ashley Ortiz – Antique Taco

12/7 Danielle Kuhn – Scratch Board F2T

12/7 Deann Bayless – Frontera Grill Mexican

12/14 Melanie Casati – Casati’s Italian

12/14 Tigist Reda – Demera Ethiopian

12/21 Lori Seay – Soul Veg City Vegan

12/21 Margarita Challenger – Guanajuato Mexican

12/28 Mary Aregoni – Saigon Sisters Vietnamese

12/28 Julia Shell – Dandy Crown Bar


Nasdaq-LTW1600

LTW Nasdaq Bell Ringing, Social Innovation Award, CNBC & NY1

LTW Nasdaq Bell Ringing, Social Innovation Award, CNBC & NY1

Click here to read more


City Collaborations

Check back soon for upcoming events!

Recent Collaborations

Our Credo

  • The goal of Let's Talk Womxn is to build the camaraderie, counsel, visibility, bargaining and economic power of its women entrepreneurs. Together.
  • Let’s Talk Womxn launched in the thick of the pandemic in 2020 for women restaurateurs to learn from & support each other. It has explosively evolved to much more. It is a magical innovative B-cube model of “competitors as collaborators.” Started for women restaurateurs, it has grown to include all women entrepreneurs and makers of food and drink.
  • Started with 15 restaurateurs in Chicago in 2020, LTW has grown to 850+ women entrepreneurs in 15 cities in the US and Canada, with three additional city offshoots. Many more US and international cities are in the LTW waitlist and pipeline.
  • LTW launched 3 additional cities in 2020 who morphed to offshoots: Let's Talk Womxn Philadelphia, Let's Talk Womxn DC and Let's Talk Womxn LA. These morphed into Philly Sisterly Love, DC Women in Food & LA RE:Her (see inception GMA, NewsNation, LA Times).
  • This action movement is entirely voluntary. And kept lean deliberately with no dues, overheads, bureaucracy, fancy office, CEO. The frills and financial drain of many conventional entities in our industry. All LTW support and revenue flows to its women entrepreneurs to boost their core businesses.
  • The crux is monthly sessions by city with "Deep Dives" into business issues to learn from each other, share counsel and referrals. "Pulse" is to know and help each other. Complete candor & confidentiality underlie these business sessions.
  • Each Let's Talk city is cohosted, nourished and led by leading city women restaurateurs. Founder Dey cross-pollinates learnings across all LTW cities & nationally, founds new cities, runs the sessions, seeds initiatives and builds sponsors & external national forums for LTW.
  • Additional LTW collaborative initiatives - apart from ongoing, all-year learning and counsel - focus on amplifying visibility, boosting aspirations, cross-promoting each other, bolstering revenue, and unstinting referrals and access. See details here LTW National Press Release 2023. Much more is afoot on both the city & national levels.
  • Let’s Talk Womxn participate actively in keynotes, talks, panels & forums to share their collaborative positive empowering B-cube model for parity. This model extends across sectors, applies within corporations for "intrepreneurs," and across countries.
  • For entities, corporations and cities who champion women entrepreneurs, backing Let's Talk Womxn is a natural choice. All LTW members are owners, employers and tastemakers with a mass following at the intersection of dining, consumer and retail. We are sponsored directly or via our 501c3 fiscal sponsor. LTW works actively with its city CVBs, SRAs, COCs, corporations and other partners.
  • The X factor in Womxn is an algebraic expression of explicit openness to women owners of all sizes, stripes, color, creed, format, scale, race, orientation, identities, startups or celebrities. All are peers.
  • Within six months of inception, LTW was included in NRN Power List Top 50 for inclusive impactful leadership alongside industry giants. A multitude of awards, accolades and media has followed organically along the way.
  • Women entrepreneurs in culinary are tired of the deluge of manuals, guidelines, conferences & webinars. Positive intentions that cause glacial change.
  • Women owners are tired of being on the fringe of involvement, whether on boards, policy, the media spotlight, or financing. This is dictated by economic power, PR heft, the fawning-over-the-beloved-few "TV celebrity" herd mentality. Let's Talk aims to redress this.
  • Let’s Talk Womxn deliberately has no mission statement, no statement of values and no five-year plan. The universe abounds with these well-meaning, murky, unaccountable, lofty articulations.
  • Let’s Talk Womxn is founded and led by Rohini Dey, Ph.D. Vermilion restaurateur in Chicago. Formerly McKinsey & Co., former World Bank, and former trustee/founder/chair of the James Beard Foundation Women's Leadership Program for a decade (2011-2021).

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JOIN US. PARTNER WITH US. SHARE US.

Reach out to Let's Talk Womxn. If you are a woman business owner in food and drink in a city we're in and would like to join us. Our forum is open to all and we'd love to have you.

To corporation, associations, and media, we're open to all help.

  1. share our collaborative Let's Talk Womxn model, a force beyond DE&I initiatives
  2. leverage our expertise on all things restaurants, food, drink and entrepreneurship as 550+ frontline owner operators
  3. tap our pulse as consumers and women with a combined vast following
  4. partner with us to unconventionally and directly foster change and help women scale
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