Daniel Lee served in the U.S. Army from 2011 to 2015, and when he finished, he set his sights on Drexel’s veteran-friendly campus, where he opted for a four-year culinary arts experience rather than a two-year program. That choice has made a big difference: He took business classes along with cooking courses, and now puts that combined knowledge base to work as owner of Farina Pasta Bar. More than just a fast-casual dining experience, the business is a social enterprise. Lee partners with the Robert Irvine Foundation and national veteran organizations to expand Farina’s impact beyond food service.

He’s working to break through that isolation and create meaningful opportunities by helping veterans learn about the food industry and even establish food trucks of their own. An experience while a student played a pivotal role in the launch of Farina Pasta Bar. He worked with a commercial pasta-making machine in one of his classes (the same machine he now uses in his restaurant) and realized that handmade pasta might be a winning proposition. As a senior project, he put together a healthy meal kit — an exercise that helped him hone his business-planning skills. And the business courses that he took, along with his culinary arts classes and food-industry co-op experiences, gave him the foundation he needed to bring his vision to life. In running a restaurant, “making the food delicious is relatively easy,” he says, but the management aspects can make or break a person’s success. Thanks to Drexel’s food-business courses and classes in food law, plus a co-op at The Campbell’s Company, Lee has hit the ground running. He’s feeding the masses fresh pasta while helping fellow veterans get a fresh start.