Fresh off a degree from the culinary school at Schoolcraft College, Lisa Cardwell is already well on her way toward opening her first restaurant. It's called Cockadoodle, a breakfast and lunch spot destined for Detroit's Avenue of Fashion.

The restaurant will be centered around a recipe Cardwell perfected one Thanksgiving with her family. Tasked with stuffing the turkey, Cardwell's unique spice mix impressed her family so much that they began to press her to open a restaurant. The Cockadoodle concept was soon developed. Switching poultry, Cardwell's recipe features that distinctive spice mix stuffed into an applewood-smoked chicken. She uses fresh, steroid- and antibiotic-free Amish chickens bought from Eastern Market.

In addition to her smoked chicken plates, Cardwell plans on offering soups, salads, and breakfast items.

Having grown up in the area, Cardwell is familiar enough with the Avenue of Fashion and its surrounding neighborhoods to know that a breakfast and lunch spot is something the area needs. She says that residents in the community are all too often traveling to the suburbs to spend their money on something not available in their neighborhood. Cardwell hopes to change that.

"Everything seems pretty serendipitous that I'm now realizing my passion," says Cardwell. "It seems pretty spiritual to me."

While a location hasn't been selected, Cardwell says she's narrowed the choices down to two. She's looking to open Cockadoodle in late 2016. In the meantime, she'll begin selling her special chickens at Eastern Market.

Once her first restaurant opens, Cardwell hopes to expand to other locations. It's designed to be replicated, she says, and she'll look to open Cockadoodles in downtown Detroit, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

Cockadoodle is one of four contestants vying to win the $50,000 grand prize from Hatch Detroit. Voting ends August 20 at 12 p.m. EST. Voting is open to the public and available online.

Source: Lisa Cardwell, conceptualist and owner at Cockadoodle
Writer: MJ Galbraith

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