A Founder's Story

Six-time James Beard Foundation semifinalist Martha Hoover founded Won’t Stop Hospitality Inc. in 1989 with her first Cafe Patachou, using premium ingredients, prepared from scratch, and partnered with local vendors and farmers — years before the phrase “farm to table” was first uttered.

In 2013, Hoover created The Patachou Foundation to serve healthy meals to food insecure children in Indianapolis. The Patachou Foundation is projected to serve its 500,000th meal to children who live with pervasive food insecurity in 2023. In its ten years of serving its community, the Foundation has grown to include Pataschool school cafeteria restoration, the Food Fellowship summer workforce development program, and a dedicated Urban Farm adjacent to the headquarters and production kitchen.

Food and Wine named Hoover “One of The Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink”, Eater named her “Empire Builder of the Year”, Vogue Magazine profiled her and the company for their sustainability practices, and InStyle Magazine named her to their list of “50 Badass Women”. Additionally, Bar One Fourteen was named one of the Best Bars in the US by Esquire Magazine, Café Patachou was named one of Restaurant Hospitality’s Top 25 Coolest Concepts, and Won’t Stop Hospitaity Inc. was named among “19 great restaurants in the US to work for” by Food and Wine.

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