Look up the USF site for information >>	FRUITFUL GROUNDS       Siblings Stephanie and Steve Dudum, San Francisco natives, started Fruitful Grounds on March 26, 1996. Their business, located at 1813 Fulton St., was born with strong work ethic, and their steadfast belief in an idea and sticking to it. Fruitful Grounds started from an idea of Stephanie wanting a simple café. Steve, a general contractor, was able to make that happen by building the café out of a garage. Together the two have done menu development and all the other things attached to opening a new business. Currently, they both own, manage, and work for the business. At its inception they only had one employee, but currently employ eight. The café has had few setbacks. Shortly after their opening, there was a setback with the opening of Starbucks on the corner of Fulton and Masonic. In order to keep their business successful Fruitful Grounds decided to expand what they were doing. Fruitful Grounds opened selling only smoothies, coffee, and sandwiches; after Starbucks opening, to change the format they incorporated serving beer and wine; and in 1998 they became a full restaurant. Another unexpected setback happened on the 16th of May 2000. The café caught on fire. This caused the café to be closed and reopened afresh 6 weeks later. The customers of the café primarily are from the neighborhood local businesses, and the University of San Francisco. The local customers are largely diverse both ethnically and economically. The café has been able to thrive due to repeat customers, and the constant growth of new customers. The café is kind of hub to the community, and are always kept informed on what is going on by the neighbors. Just as they contribute so much to the community, they also contribute a lot to USF. They have consistently made donations to the University of San Francisco, and have helped students whenever possible. They also make donations and contributions in the form of certificates and food to many other local organizations. We at the University of San Francisco Family Business Resource Center are proud to have a relationship with the Dudum family and thank them for sharing this story with us.       Previous   I   Next
Copyright Family Business Center, University of San Francisco.