What’s Sabine’s Why? Helping Others

Memphis Café Offers a New Start to Refugees

By ICIC | August 21, 2024

In the heart of midtown Memphis lies the historic Crosstown community. Once widely known for the 1.5 million-square-foot Sears shopping and distribution center, the neighborhood spiraled downward following the store’s closure in 1993. The vacant building stood as a physical reminder of the economic and cultural gap created when Sears left the city. Two decades passed before a group of leaders gathered to cast a new vision for transforming the space into a hub of artistic, health, academic, and cultural activity. Today, the structural giant, aptly named Crosstown Concourse, contains apartments, medical offices, a YMCA, educational entities including a high school, performance venues, and a variety of restaurants and bars. The eclectic nature of the project makes it the perfect home for the mission-driven eatery Global Café.

Founded in 2018, Global Café is a food hall that offers authentic, affordably-priced international cuisine cooked fresh and from scratch by immigrant and refugee food entrepreneurs. The restaurant was launched by Sabine Langer, whose love for exploring the world drove her to travel from Switzerland to the U.S. Langer spent years enjoying the sunny beaches of Southern California before moving to the South. After some time in the humid heat of Texas, she put down roots in Memphis, Tennessee. The challenges she faced in becoming a dual citizen, paired with her experiences volunteering in neighborhoods with high concentrations of immigrants, led to the idea of creating this unique business.

Nourishing Communities, Empowering Lives

From its origins, Global Café was designed as a harbor where vulnerable members of society could establish themselves while adapting to a new country. Langer, who spent 15 years as a stay-at-home mom before launching the restaurant, noticed that many refugees were using their cooking skills to supplement their income. They often shared their dreams of owning a restaurant with her, and she felt she could help. Despite not being interested in becoming a chef or cooking, she leveraged her business strengths and developed a restaurant model to benefit the Memphis refugee and immigrant community.

Langer is not the first to provide assistance in this area. There are several two-year workforce development programs that operate like incubators and have a culinary component. However, Global’s approach is unique because all the training is completed in a real restaurant and it does not provide time limits to employment. While the company requests a minimum commitment of one year, it requires no prior experience, offers free English lessons, and often pays higher wages than other businesses where the employees have worked. These earnings have helped the staff achieve significant milestones for resettlement, such as buying a home or a personal vehicle.

Growth that Matters

In 2023, Langer was honored to be included on the Inner City 100 Awards list. The IC100 Awards annually recognize the 100 fastest-growing businesses located in under-resourced communities. In the company’s debut appearance, Global touted an impressive 146.6% four-year average growth rate, placing them at number 46. The win came just two years after Langer graduated from ICIC’s flagship executive education program, Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC). ICCC is a tuition-free, comprehensive, 40-hour “mini-MBA” program specifically designed to empower entrepreneurs in under-resourced communities by providing them with advanced education, actionable insights, networking, and personalized coaching. Langer shared, “The ICCC program was incredibly helpful. I learned how to create an overview of where the company is, where we should be, and what we should think about long term.”

With community engagement at the core of the company’s ethos, Global Café has provided employment and training to refugees and immigrants from many countries around the world, including Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Cuba, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Jamaica, Korea, Mexico, Nepal, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Switzerland, Ukraine, U.S.A., and Venezuela. The café embodies the heart of Crosstown Concourse and serves as a gathering place for guests from all walks of life to have an international experience through food. Global is more than a place to eat. It is a bridge between cultures and a safe space on the path to resettlement.

About the IC100 Awards
Since 1999, ICIC has identified and honored the 100 fastest-growing businesses located in under-resourced communities through the prestigious Inner City 100 (IC100) awards. Throughout this period, ICIC has had the privilege of learning about and highlighting more than 1,000 remarkable business leaders and companies from across the United States. These firms have proven to be catalysts for job growth and promoters of a thriving, inclusive economy, even amidst challenging circumstances. Furthermore, they have actively contributed to the enhancement of their communities by generously donating their time and resources to local organizations and charitable causes.

Learn more about the IC100 Awards and eligibility criteria for this year’s list at icic.org/ic100.

About ICCC
Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) is a tuition-free executive leadership training program designed by ICIC to help business owners in under-resourced communities build capacity for sustainable growth in revenue, profitability, and employment. ICCC is uniquely designed to provide three critical elements for sustainable growth: capacity-building education, one-on-one coaching, and connections to capital and capital providers. ICCC annually hosts in-person and virtual cohorts across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more and apply visit icic.org/iccc.