BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Irene Li founded Mei Mei Street Kitchen in 2012.
By 2023, her business had evolved from a food truck into a full-blown dumpling company.
Now Li helps others follow their restaurant dreams.
Her company, Prepshift, helps new restaurant owners keep the lights on while they get their businesses off the ground.
She told WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel many of her clients want to pay their workers livable wages even before their restaurants are profitable.
"We work primarily with clients who do have these really progressive values and we just want to make sure they're able to afford them," Li said.
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Prepshift offers consultations and boot camps that teach restaurant owners how to streamline their businesses.
City and state grants fund much of the work. Some clients do not have to pay Li anything for her services.
"That's what makes this my dream job," Li said. "I get to hangout with people I really like, eat food that I think is incredible, and then someone else pays us to help them with the business."
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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