How our products support San Diego’s most delicious burgers
We’re proud to announce the sale of a large order of our fabulous cutting boards to the Pacific Standard Coastal Kitchen in San Diego.
Pacific Standard is a new restaurant in the Little Italy neighborhood. If you order the burger, the tuna tartare or the charcuterie board, you’ll be dining on the finest social enterprise hand made hardwood boards in Southern California. In addition to supporting our noble cause, the Pacific Standard sports a patio with amazing views of the bay and harbor. Check it out when you’re in SD next time!
Purchasing boards from Would Works is a win-win.
In 2016, my firm New School helped to create and launch Pacific Standard in Little Italy, San Diego. During menu development, we began searching for wooden boards to present cheese, charcuterie, burgers, crab cakes, and sandwiches.
There is a vast array of options out there, but when we discovered Would Works we knew we'd found the right partner. Anyone can turn lumber into cutting boards to make money, but Would Works is unique because they do so with a greater purpose in mind.
We ordered 100 charcuterie boards and they arrived right on schedule, carefully packed, all set for opening night.Our Would Works boards look lovely in the dining room, and diners regularly inquire about the backstory, which our servers and hosts are more than happy to tell. The restaurant staff appreciate that our boards provided work opportunities for homeless individuals, and they feel like active participants in the cause. Would Works boards are great simply for presenting food, but partnering with them is a win-win because they provide an avenue to give back, and every order helps them continue the quest.
Duncan Smith
New School Consulting
The collaboration between Would Works and Pacific Standard Coastal Kitchen was facilitated by Duncan Smith of New School Consulting. They work with restaurants on concept creation, branding, food and beverage menu creation and staff training. The group is behind all of the extremely hip food and beverage at Roy Choi’s The Line Hotel and other restaurants including A Frame, The Sunny Spot, and Alibi Room in Los Angeles.
Duncan was a classmate of Would Works co-founder, Connor, at UCLA’s Master in Urban Planning Program. Duncan had been looking for a way to collaborate with Would Works on new restaurant concepts. So when he came to Would-Works with the idea of having the classic Would Works Charcuterie Board for a new restaurant in San Diego, we were excited to make it happen!
Our artisans finished 100 Charcuterie Boards for Pacific Standard. The order provided five artisans four days worth of work each.
Two artisans, Barb and David, were working on past-due rent that resulted from a change in income. They were both able to work enough hours to pay off their past-due amount.
Now that Pacific Standard Coastal Kitchen is open, our Would Works charcuterie board received some love in a photo from Zagat’s article about the best new burgers to try in San Diego!
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Winding down this year, we express deep gratitude for your support and engagement with Would Works. 2023 began expansively: WW Community Builders Program Artisans and our team took a field trip to the snow-covered Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains north of the city. Shirley is the Artisan Lead at Would Works and was born and raised in LA. She’s now in her mid-60’s, yet she’s never been up to the Angeles Forest. Our city is surrounded by abundant landscapes, but many residents who face barriers to employment also lack access to experiences in nature. This forest visit reflects the growth trajectory of Would Works, which we illuminate here.
