# Ex-Con Cooks 'Conviction' Restaurant Employs 13 Former Inmates By Christina Butty | Published 2009-05-17 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/second-chances-conviction-restaurant-employs-ex-cons References: [torontolife](http://http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/just-opened/2009/05/08/goodbye-bite-me-hello-conviction-marc-thuets-new-restaurant-opens-tonight-staffed-with-reformed-criminals/) & [convictionrestaurant](http://www.convictionrestaurant.com/press/) Open in Toronto, Conviction is a [restaurant staffed entirely by inmates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/giving-kitchen). Run by [celebrity chef Mark Thuet](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/enigma-yorkville-x-langdon-hall) and his wife Biana Zorich, Conviction restaurant is run by 13 staff members who are freshly paroled ex-cons. The convicts run both the front of house and work in the kitchen. Conviction restaurant was created to give former inmates a chance at a fresh start and offer them the starting path for a new life. Mr. Thuet is doing a great thing. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.5/10 - Popularity: 65% | Activity: 31% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Branding](https://www.trendhunter.com/branding) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Prison Employment:** Creating opportunities for freshly paroled ex-cons in the food industry can be a disruptive innovation to prison reform. - **Social Enterprise Restaurants:** The concept of social enterprise restaurants, such as Conviction, can disrupt the restaurant industry by offering new ways of supporting community and social causes. - **Rehabilitation Through Culinary Education:** The trend of using culinary education as a means of rehabilitating and training inmates for future careers in the food industry presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in education and training. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Food Industry:** The food industry can benefit from employing freshly paroled ex-cons, creating opportunities for a diverse workforce, and contributing to prison reform efforts. - **Prison Reform:** The use of social enterprise restaurants, such as Conviction, through public-private partnerships, can be a disruptive innovation in promoting rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders. - **Education and Training:** Culinary education and training programs can be a form of disruptive innovation in rehabilitating inmates and preparing them for careers in the food industry, promoting their successful reintegration into society. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Homemade Meal Delivery Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cookin.md) - [Incarcerated Employment Programs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/next-chapter.md) - [Female-Centered Restaurant Concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/trust-bae.md) - [BIPOC-Owned Korean-Parisian Restaurants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gateau-ghost.md) - [Elevated Vegan Restaurants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/community-resto.md) - [Chef-Designed Read-To-Eat Meal Services](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wecook.md) - [Chef-Led Institutional Food Services](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/anne-burrell.md) - [Community-Oriented Cookbook Stores](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/foodies-cookbook-shop.md) - [Pop-Up Takeout Joints](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/popup-takeout-joints.md)