Hospitality competition winner plans to expand restaurant into a chain

Avery Sheppard was 18 when a business owner approached her mother, a fishery owner in Gore Bay, Ontario, about opening a fish and chips stand. Her mother wasn't interested. But Sheppard took the deal.

"My parents thought I was crazy or that I was joking, but I persisted and did a lot of research," said Sheppard, now 23. "I figured out that I had enough money to develop a good chunk of the restaurant and prove that I could do it."

Now that restaurant, Purvis Fish & Chips, is thriving, and Sheppard, a hospitality management master's student in the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, won $25,000 in the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship's Hospitality Business Plan Competition, which took place on April 18 in the Statler Auditorium. Sheppard was among eight competitors, including two runner-up winners, evaluated by 13 alumni judges over three rounds.

"The business I have right now is very successful and it's helped the community, so I'd like to keep that location for sure," Sheppard said. "But I'd like to add to that and have identified eight potential locations in the Ontario region that would be beneficial. I'm hoping five years from now I'll have three or four locations open."

In its first five years, Purvis Fish & Chips has neared $1.5 million in net revenue, according to Sheppard. She has 15 employees each summer, operating her business from June 1 to Labor Day. Two years ago, she opened an ice cream shop on the lower floor of her restaurant.

"I learned a lot about refining my business plan and selling myself as a founder. If you have a business idea that you truly think is going to work, then you should try it," she said. "Don't sell yourself short. It might set you back in the moment if it doesn't work out, but for the most part, you'll either learn a lot or come out the other side in a better place."

The judges ranked each participant on the quality of the written business plan, market opportunity and research, feasibility, advisory team and oral presentation. Sheppard said she received useful feedback on her business model for the first location and her long-term plan to scale.

Chris Kirby '14, a Nolan School alum and a first-time judge of the competition, stood in Sheppard's position a little more than a decade ago.

Kirby, the founder and CEO of Ithaca Hummus, won the second-place prize in the 2014 competition, earning $5,000. His business started at a stall in the Ithaca Farmer's Market and his product is now sold by more than 10,000 retail stores nationwide. In 2025, the company hit over $150 million in lifetime sales.

"I used that $5,000 to buy equipment, and even then, I was hand-squeezing lemons until my hands were chapped and cracked," Kirby said. "This is a full circle moment for me. There's a lot of really promising bright and ambitious students that give me hope for the future."

Judges for the final round included Kirby; Ashwin Kamlani, MMH '03, founder and CEO of Hyperfunnel; and Kristen McClellan '12, founder and CEO of Snap Wellness.

"Participation offers a valuable platform to showcase innovative ideas and learn directly from founders in hospitality entrepreneurship, with mentors' and judges' insights at each stage playing a key role in helping students sharpen their business concepts," said Christina McDowell, director of the Pillsbury Institute.

Reland, a luxury airport lounge concept offering wellness sessions for long-haul travelers, founded by Aiden Chen, MMH '26; Miya Deng, MMH '26; and Katelynn Wiseman, MMH '26, won second place, and $7,500.

The $5,000 third-place prize went to Kube & Co., founded by Michael Dizon-Bumann '26 and Benjamin Gibson '29, which sells the materials to make flavored ice cubes, preventing dilution of iced coffee.

Honorable mentions included Nocturne, a melatonin-free sleep aid, and Better Tales, sustainably and ethically sourced chocolate aiming to distribute through hospitality outlets.

The top 10 finalists who didn't make the final round were invited to present a 60-second spotlight of their company. Presenters included Review Perks, a service exchanging client reviews for gift cards; AwayGame, a nutrition and recovery tracker for athletes; Nomu, automated housekeeper carts; and Ground Up, a petroleum alternative derived from food waste.

Nina Collavo is a writer for the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.