CLEVELAND, Ohio — The founder and leader of a renowned East Side restaurant that helps ex-inmates launch careers in the restaurant industry today said that he will challenge Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson this year.
Brandon Chrostowski, president and CEO of the nonprofit Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute, said in an interview that he’s been thinking about running for six months, but he first waited for Jackson to announce his re-election bid, which Jackson did earlier this week, before jumping in himself.
“He’s the champ, so I thought, let him decide, and I’ll follow suit,” Chrostowski, 37, said. “I just want to make it clear, I’m not going to run some shameless campaign. I’ve got true admiration for the man, I think he’s done a great job. But I’ve just got a different idea of what should work.”
Chrostowski announced his candidacy in an interview with Cleveland Scene. Seven other candidates have pulled petitions to enter the race, including City Councilman Jeffrey Johnson, a longtime Jackson critic. The mayoral primary is in September — the top two candidates then will face off in November.
Chrostowski lives with his family in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, near his Shaker Square restaurant, which opened in 2013. The restaurant offers high-end French cuisine, and employs ex-offenders whom the restaurant trains for careers in the restaurant industry. Edwins has been nationally recognized for its work in helping ex-inmates reintegrate into society, and Chrostowski was honored as a CNN hero in 2016. He said 150 ex-inmates have graduated from his program and found jobs, and none have returned to prison.
He told cleveland.com that as mayor, he would take what he’s developed at Edwins and scale it up, possibly providing neighborhood training centers across the city.
Chrostowski is a native of Detroit, and moved to Cleveland in 2008 after training in restaurants around the world. In 2015, he opened a second facility, a nearby campus in the Buckeye neighborhood that provides housing for students in the program who need it.
http://www.cleveland.com/mycleveland/index.ssf/2016/01/brandon_chrostowski_turns_form.html
“If you thought your future was working a third shift or something menial, I wouldn’t go to school. I don’t know about you, but I would find another way,” Chrostowski said. “But I think that providing a better future, first and foremost, is a way to help our teachers and police officers out in having a safer place and a better educated community.”
Chrostowski’s mission is informed by his own personal brush with the law, which he has written about in op-eds published on cleveland.com. In 1997, when he was 17, he was charged in Michigan with felony fleeing and eluding, court records show. He’s told The Plain Dealer in the past that the incident was drug-related. He ended up pleading to a lesser charge.
“I avoided a 10-year sentence and got probation instead,” he said Thursday. “And when I was on probation, I met a chef who mentored me and taught me the right skills. He taught me practice makes perfect, and from there, I worked very hard in elite places around the world.”
While his work has put him in touch with community and political leaders, Chrostowski has never sought elected office before. He said win or lose, he hopes his involvement in the race will help contribute ideas that will help improve the city.
“I’m not going to be naive. There is a difference [between running a business and running for office], but to me, I’m not looking at it that way” he said. “I’m not looking at approaching this like a politician. I’m approaching it like a businessman and someone who cares.”
He said he’s heard from a smattering of people since the news broke this morning that he’s running.
“People don’t want to doubt me because they know what I can do, but at the same time they know it’s uncharted waters,” he said. “So I think the jury is still out for a lot of people.”
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