Capstone Project Proposal

Name of student: Bellamy Wynans Date: 10/14/22

Teacher: Mr. Green Block: B

The Capstone strand I have chosen is: The entrepreneur strand

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: Bon Appetit!

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that
connects with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that
you cannot just google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:
How can I establish a successful restaurant that utilizes my passions?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain why you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry
connect to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?
This topic interests me because, as I continue to build my future plans, something that
has always been a part of that plan is being able to own and run my own restaurant. I have a
passion for cooking and love being around a variety of people. Plus, food has always been a big
part of society that we can even connect memories to, so a goal of mine is to be able to provide
the best experience and memories for people through my business.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?
I have little personal background knowledge on this topic apart from discussions with
restaurant owners and other people in that line of business that I know personally. I have also
done some research prior to this project as I am interested in learning more about the process.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?
I have not completely solidified my intended career goal, but I do know that I want to go
into business and people management. As I mentioned before, regardless of how I got there, I
have always wanted to run my own restaurant so being able to explore this topic as my inquiry
question can help me have more insight into what it is that I want to do and how I should go
about it.
Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.
I think all 6 core competencies are connected with my inquiry question.
- Personal Awareness and Responsibility: When it comes to starting your own
business and building from the ground up, 100% of the start-up is being personally
responsible and accountable for your own actions and keeping yourself determined and
motivated to achieve your goals.
- Social Responsibility: Valuing diversity and building relationships in any workplace is
beneficial, but especially in business, and service such as a restaurant, being able to
interact and engage with people is important. A main goal of a restaurant as well, is to
contribute to the community positively.
- Critical thinking: When starting a business, you need to be able to analyze and
develop ways to improve your workplace while collectively benefiting the unit. Problem
solving and creating ways to trouble shoot is also integral.
- Creative Thinking: Being able to remain productive despite any setbacks as well as
persevering through challenges and understanding that a restaurant doesn’t just make
itself. It takes work and refining ideas until it flows well.
- Communication: Connecting and engaging with workers and customers to collaborate
and make the overall environment a better place. Listening to the perspectives of others
as well and knowing that there will be times where you make mistakes.
- Personal and Cultural Identity: Being able to use your strengths to your advantage but
also being able to utilize the perspectives of others and appreciate the diversity between
different people and their way of thinking.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
I will likely present my project using an electronic portfolio such as Prezi or a PowerPoint
so I can convey my ideas and findings in an organized manner and be able to give an in-depth
presentation on my inquiry. I may also include a physical portfolio such as possible marketing
strategies for my restaurant like a design idea etc. I will also create a business proposal.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.
My capstone has a general direction of business so although a focus of mine is
on building up a restaurant, I will also research business and what business skills can
be beneficial for starting a business regardless of what it is. I will use a variety of
resources to gather this research as well as multiple mentors. This mentorship will come
from business owners as well as restaurant owners that can give me more insight into
the business I am trying to get into as well as support my research and talk about their
experiences with challenges in the workplace.
 Some topics I will research are inventory management, menu planning, hiring
employees, finding a location, pricing equipment, food safe rules, advertising and
customer satisfaction. I will create a PowerPoint on my business plan, a sample menu,
sample budget and timeline and what steps I would have to take in order to get started.
I also plan on creating a business proposal that will show the research I have done as
well as how I plan on going about opening my business.
A topic that holds my interest is molecular gastronomy which is essentially the
use of science in the restaurant to produce new textures, flavors and presentation. This
is also a great way to bring in the other career that I am interested in so I can
experience both. Not only that, but I have yet to have found a restaurant in Vancouver
that does anything like this so if I could start a restaurant that incorporates molecular
gastronomy, that could be a great experience.
Some of the most difficult challenges to overcome especially when opening a
restaurant are how you are going to advertise your business and its products, what type
of employees you are going to hire and geographical consideration. I want to be able to
solve these problems and find the best way to solve any issues that may arise.
I think that although a restaurant is considered to be one of the most difficult
businesses to open, if I can create a well-thought-out business proposal, then I can
develop a successful restaurant.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.
- I will use online sources such as jstor to research the background of my topic.
- I will consult with connections that I know from the business aspect of owning a
restaurant as well as possibly reach out to other sources such as the GM of the McDonalds I
currently work at to get more of an immersive experience.
- I will use a variety of books I have found on the topic of running a restaurant.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?
- Justin Atterbury - personal connection.
- Steve Kuffler - personal connection
- Antonio Vargas - personal connection
- Adam Wynans – personal connection
- Ron Knight, Brandy Kahle – Workplace and/or email
All the people I have listed are in some way related to business and/or the owning of a
restaurant that I think could be beneficial to my inquiry.
Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?
Availability of mentors and trouble finding intricate details that are important but may be
something you learn through immersive experience rather than second-hand.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.
My goal is to convey how I would go about opening my restaurant as if I were actually
doing it. Of course, they may have limitations as it is theoretical, but I look forward to learning
more about the details of how to run a restaurant.

References: Provide a literature review of 5-10 PEER REVIEWED ACADEMIC references:

research, videos, etc. that offer some preliminary research you have done for your project
that shows you are able to access the key information that you will need to be able to
complete this project/work. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.
APA format Sources:
- NATHAN KAPLAN. (2017). Where Should I Open My Restaurant? Mathematics Magazine,
90(4), 278–285. https://doi.org/10.4169/math.mag.90.4.278
- Whyte, W. F. (1949). The Social Structure of the Restaurant. American Journal of Sociology,
54(4), 302–310. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2770650
- Lafontaine, F. (1992). Agency Theory and Franchising: Some Empirical Results. The RAND
Journal of Economics, 23(2), 263–283. https://doi.org/10.2307/2555988
- Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., Mayer, R. C., & Tan, H. H. (2000). The Trusted General
Manager and Business Unit Performance: Empirical Evidence of a Competitive Advantage.
Strategic Management Journal, 21(5), 563–576. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3094140
- Becker, G. S. (1991). A Note on Restaurant Pricing and Other Examples of Social Influences
on Price. Journal of Political Economy, 99(5), 1109–1116. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2937660
- The language of business: Finance and accounting. Ivey Business School. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 15, 2022, from https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/academy/blog/2019/04/the-language-of-business-
finance-and-accounting/