Conscious Capitalism: Business Beyond Profit with Rachel Fine Wilson

Purpose driven hospitality starts with a simple belief: a restaurant can do well and do good at the same time. In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Rachel Fine Wilson, Founder and CEO of Gigglewaters, a 1920s-style restaurant, bar, and classic movie theater now growing through franchising, to explore how that belief shapes everything from daily service to disaster relief.

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

In this episode we explore:

• How Rachel defines conscious capitalism when your product is food

• How Giggles for Good turned a movie theater into a fundraising tool for nonprofits

• What it took to feed first responders and families through COVID and hurricane season

• Five core values that guide hiring, coaching, and franchisee selection

• Why psychological safety lets a team of 60 keep asking how Gigglewaters can help

• What role love plays when you lead a hospitality business

Rachel traces her purpose to her father, a restaurateur and mental health counselor who showed up after 9-11 and Katrina. When COVID closed her doors one week into franchising, she kept cooking and delivered meals to testing sites, hospitals, and fire stations. That year became the foundation for a disaster relief food truck.

Culture is the second thread. Rachel treats culture as an active verb, and her team celebrates one-, two-, and five-year anniversaries in an industry where the average stay is four months. Her staff brings ideas for helping, and she keeps the room safe for imperfect ones.

As Gigglewaters franchises, she looks for owners who share the mindset of asking how to help first. She also makes her why loud on purpose, and at least two dozen local restaurants joined her free lunch effort for kids.

That pairing of generosity and operational discipline is the kind of human-centered growth Zero Company helps brands communicate, so the care a business shows in person is also what its audience sees online.

Key Takeaways

• (2:08) On conscious capitalism: “you can do well and do good at the same time.”

• (2:56) On the Giggles for Good program: “we ended up helping over the years, 119 individual 501C3s use the platform for them to raise money.”

• (6:16) On Hurricane Milton relief: “we were able to feed 9,370 people in communities directly in need via our food truck in partnership with World Central Kitchen.”

• (10:47) On culture as an active verb: “We actively hire, coach, train and terminate based on those core values.”

• (13:29) On why her team stays: “We see all the time, we don't just make a burger, we make a difference.”

• (35:33) On love in business: “I lead with love every single day.”

FAQ

What is purpose driven hospitality?
Rachel Fine Wilson, Founder and CEO of Gigglewaters, describes it as running a restaurant so the business does well and does good at the same time, using food, space, and staff to meet real community needs.

How does Gigglewaters give back to its community?
Rachel Fine Wilson says Gigglewaters has let 119 nonprofits raise money through its theater, delivered meals during COVID, and fed 9,370 people after Hurricane Milton with a disaster relief food truck.

How does Rachel Fine Wilson keep culture strong as Gigglewaters franchises?
Rachel Fine Wilson says Gigglewaters hires, coaches, trains, and terminates based on five core values, including caring about the community and showing up when it matters, and she screens franchisees for the same fit.

For Rachel Fine Wilson, love sits at the center of the business, and the proof is in how the community shows up for Gigglewaters in return. Learn more at gigglewaters.com, explore franchising at ownagigglewaters.com, see her guest profile, watch the video, and explore more Featured Guest Series conversations.