Here's how to win $1 million to build your dream restaurant in coastal North Carolina

Taylor Shook, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read

Some folks dream about opening their own restaurant, imagining the recipes, menus, decor, and delight on guests' faces when they dig into a signature dish.

That dream is about to come true for one entrepreneur. Own Your Own, a company based in the Pender County town of Burgaw, has put out a call for Fayetteville-area cooks, chefs and dreamers to apply for a nationwide competition to win up to $1 million to build their own restaurant.

The winner will work with a team of designers and architects to transform a 2,250-square-foot space with exposed brick walls and a patio on Courthouse Avenue in historic Burgaw into their dream restaurant. The space will be leased to the winner.

Own Your Own restaurant competition winner will work with a team of designers and architects to transform the 2,250-square-foot space with exposed brick walls and a patio on Courthouse Avenue in historic Burgaw into their dream restaurant.
Own Your Own restaurant competition winner will work with a team of designers and architects to transform the 2,250-square-foot space with exposed brick walls and a patio on Courthouse Avenue in historic Burgaw into their dream restaurant.

Own Your Own founder Richard Johnson is holding the competition as part of his efforts to revitalize downtown Burgaw, where he owns Fat Daddy’s Pizza on Fremont Street and Burgaw Brewing Company on Wright Street.

"I find someone who wants to own a restaurant, build it for them and hand it over with a reasonable lease. They get their own restaurant, and the town has a new gathering place," Johnson said in a statement.

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A rendering of the 2,250-square-foot space with exposed brick walls and a patio on Courthouse Avenue in historic Burgaw.
A rendering of the 2,250-square-foot space with exposed brick walls and a patio on Courthouse Avenue in historic Burgaw.

Competition details

Finalists will prepare their signature dish at a pop-up kitchen in the Burgaw town square. Community members and a panel of chefs will vote on their favorites to determine who will move forward in the competition.

The finalists will then compete in a series of challenges that highlight their “culinary expertise, creativity, leadership, ability to problem solve and people skills,” according to the Own Your Own website.  

About Burgaw, North Carolina

The Pender County seat, Burgaw is about 75 miles southeast of Fayetteville and 30 miles from the coast.  The population as of 2021 was 3,071, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" movie and "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" television series were both filmed in the town. An annual blueberry festival brings tens of thousands of visitors to the area each June.

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How to apply

Culinary experience is not required. The judges are looking for a “passion for food, a mind for business and a heart for community,” according to the website.

Applicants 18 and older can apply at ownyourown.com.

Reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Win $1 million to build your dream restaurant in Burgaw, NC