Restaurant Academy

The Restaurant Academy is a leadership development pilot created by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation in partnership with American Express and Resy.

The Restaurant Academy is a national leadership development initiative designed by and for restaurant leaders. Restaurant Academy aims to elevate restaurant industry knowledge, skills, and retention in the nation’s second-largest private employer, strengthen small business financial resilience, foster innovation, and elevate the guest experience across participating local restaurants.

Created by The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), the program is intended to respond directly to industry wide workforce challenges*. The Restaurant Academy is designed to blend practical leadership training, business fundamentals, peer learning, and an in person convening to help restaurant leaders of small restaurants navigate today’s operating environment.

Restaurant Academy will include approximately 30 restaurant leaders from across the country, participating in facilitated sessions led by top industry leaders and peer engagement from September-March. The program will continue with a virtual meet-and-greet in September and culminate in a fall in-person gathering with leaders from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, American Express, Resy, and the broader industry. Insights from the program will inform future cohorts and ongoing restaurant leadership development.

There is no fee to participate in the Program. This pilot Program is supported through grant funding provided by American Express.

Applications will be open from June 30 through July 29, 2026.

Program Eligibility

To be eligible for participation in the Program, applicants must:

• Be 18 years of age or older at the time of application
• Be a current owner, co-owner or senior restaurant manager
• Be able to represent the restaurant externally, and make decisions on staffing and the running of the restaurant
• Be actively employed in and/or operating a restaurant at the time of application and throughout the Program
• Have a minimum of one (1) year tenure in their current role
• Be affiliated with an actively operating restaurant with no more than 500 employees and 1 – 5 locations; cannot be a franchisee of a larger restaurant group
• Be committed to attending and participating in all Program activities

Employees and the immediate family members of employees of NRAEF, National Restaurant Association, their affiliates, any state restaurant association (and/or their associated foundation) and employees and immediate family members of American Express, Resy, and their affiliates are ineligible for Program participation and any associated stipend offered by NRAEF. NRAEF reserves sole discretion in determining eligibility. 

Terms and Conditions

Additional terms and conditions for the Restaurant Academy can be found here.

What Participants Will Learn

The program is organized around three pillars that reflect the demands of running a restaurant:

• Leadership that strengthens teams: Participants gain practical tools for hiring with intention, building repeatable onboarding and training frameworks, developing retention-focused leadership strategies, including coaching, career pathway development, and future-ready skills like AI, that help reduce team churn and drive internal advancement.
• Leadership that enhances the guest experience: The program empowers leaders to build hospitality-focused teams, equipping them with tools for de-escalation, active listening, and solution-focused communication, while training them to stay grounded and motivate their teams during high-pressure moments.
• Leadership that understands the bottom line: Owners and managers build financial fluency through training on P&Ls, food and labor costs, cash flow, and vendor management, connecting everyday operational decisions to stronger margins and long-term growth.

Participation Stipend

There is no fee to participate in the Program. Participants are eligible to receive a total stipend of up to $5,000, certain travel expenses related to participation (up to $750), and hotel rooms/meals associated with the in person convening in September, to help support their participation in the program as further outlined in the Participation Agreement, with distribution based on completion of certain Program milestones, such as attendance at the in-person event, completion of all required coursework and cohort sessions and completion of the post-cohort survey.

Additional terms apply and all terms related to participation requirements and potential stipends shall be separately documented in the Participation Agreement. Applicant is solely responsible for any state or federal tax liability in association with acceptance of a participation stipend.

Stipend eligibility is limited to the individual selected participant.

Program Structure

The Restaurant Academy is a hybrid program that combines virtual modules, peer cohorts, and in-person training to equip participants with skills to train, mentor, and retain employees. Required self-paced learning and any virtual convenings will be dependent on pre-event assessment, but there will be a minimum of four to ten hours spread across six months.

Expected Timeline – 2026

• June 30–July 29: Application period
• August 13: Cohort selection and notification
• Early September: Virtual orientation
• September 23–24: In‑person convening in Washington, D.C.
• Q4 2026–Q1 2027: Virtual learning sessions and peer engagement
• March 2027: Program completion and outcomes review

Exact dates and additional program details will be shared with selected participants.

Ready to Apply?

Applications for the Restaurant Academy are now open and will close July 29 at 11:59 pm ET.

If you’re a restaurant manager, you will be asked to provide a letter supporting your participation from your employer. To apply, please click here.

Space is limited for this inaugural cohort. Questions? Please contact rhlc@nraef.org.