FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

30 Days Left to Win Sweet Peas Neighborhood Bistro & Pour House

PALMYRA, Va., May 1, 2007 – Joanna Yoakam’s days as owner of Sweet Peas Neighborhood Bistro & Pour House (http://www.sweetpeasbistro.net) are numbered. There are just 30 days left until the close of the essay contest Yoakam created to hand over the reins of her full-service restaurant to one lucky winner.

For a $199 entrance fee and a standout essay, anyone who dreams of owning and operating a restaurant has the chance to win Sweet Peas. But the contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on May 31, 2007, so Yoakam urges budding restaurateurs to send in their entries soon.

“We’re counting down the days until the “Win a Bistro” contest closes,” Yoakam, a 25-year veteran of the food industry, stated. “I encourage anyone who is seriously interested in having their own restaurant to enter the contest and tell us their story.”

As anyone in the food service industry knows, restaurants have a notoriously high fail rate in the first year, and start-up financing is often difficult to obtain. So Yoakam chose to sell Sweet Peas in an unconventional way, in hopes of opening the door for people who might not otherwise be able to buy a restaurant like Sweet Peas--those with more talent than money, for example, or small business owners who would like to expand but whose capital is tied up in other ventures.

“A lot of hard work went into creating Sweet Peas and growing it into the successful restaurant and bar it is today,” Yoakam explained. “We have a terrific staff, loyal customers and a good reputation in the community. I didn’t want that to end just because I was moving away. It made sense to pass it all on to someone else who had the dream of owning a restaurant, just as I did when I started.”

The “Win a Bistro” contest began in March. Contestants submit a 500-word essay and the $199 entrance fee to Sweet Peas. After the minimum required number of entries is received, Yoakam and her team will select the best essay based on specific criteria, including genuine interest in owning the business, ability to be successful, creativity and following contest rules.

The winner will receive the two-year-old Sweet Peas Neighborhood Bistro & Pour House, a fully staffed, 75-seat restaurant at Lake Monticello in Palmyra, free and clear--including all equipment, furnishings, inventory, lease assignments and clientele. Entry fees will be used to pay off the restaurant’s remaining debt.

“Sweet Peas lacks nothing except the new owner,” said Yoakam. “It’s all here. But the greatest prize is the lack of a financial cloud hanging over the winner’s head. This is one way that everyone--the contest winner, my staff, the community and I--wins.”

Judging begins June 1, 2007, and a winner will be announced later that month. For full details, including photos of the restaurant, visit http://www.sweetpeasbistro.net.

Contact:

Joanna Yoakam

Sweet Peas Bistro

434-589-6590

sweetpeasbistro@earthlink.net

http://www.sweetpeasbistro.net

###

Chef2Chef News DeskNews at Restaurant.OrgResearch and MarketsNation's Restaurant NewsSpecialty Eatery News