Edwins Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Where Education Wins

EDWINS is not simply a fine dining destination. It is a restaurant, a school, and a campus built around a single conviction: "every human being, regardless of their past, has the right to a fair and equal future." Founded in 2007 by Brandon Chrostowski and opened as a restaurant on November 1, 2013, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute trains formerly incarcerated adults in classical French cuisine and professional hospitality, then puts them to work in the dining room and kitchen. The result is what the New York Times called "High-Stakes Haute Cuisine" — and what earned the program a spot at No. 12 on the paper's 52 Places for a Changed World list.

The Man Behind It

Chrostowski's own path through food is classical to the core. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, he trained at Lucas Carton — Paris's longest-standing Michelin three-star restaurant at the time — before moving through Le Cirque, Picholine, and Chanterelle in New York, where he worked alongside Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn. He later became a certified sommelier himself and built L'Albatros Brasserie into one of Cleveland's most respected restaurants before committing fully to EDWINS. In 2025, the James Beard Foundation honored him with its Impact Award, recognizing the program's role in creating opportunity and dignity across the hospitality industry. EDWINS was also the subject of Knife Skills, an Academy Award-nominated documentary directed by Thomas Lennon.

The Dining Experience

The restaurant operates across two distinct formats: a Brasserie open most evenings and a Fine Dining salon running Tuesday through Saturday. The wine program earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2023, reflecting the same rigor applied to every aspect of the operation. Beyond the main dining room, the EDWINS campus includes a Butcher Shop, a Bakery, an Oyster Bar, a Cigar Bar, and EDWINS Too — a culinary incubator and community kitchen. Sunday brunch rounds out the week.

A Model That Works

The program graduates approximately 75 to 100 students per year and reports a one percent recidivism rate among alumni — a figure that speaks louder than any award. Students receive not only hands-on French culinary training but also free housing, legal services, medical care, job coaching, and literacy support through the Second Chance Life Skills Center. As The New York Times observed, the mission here is larger than braised artichokes and Burgundy snails. Every table reserved at EDWINS directly sustains that work.