Martha Hoover founded a successful collection of restaurants in Indianapolis, Indiana —Café Patachou, Petite Chou Bistro & Champagne Bar, and Napolese Pizzeria. Founded in 1989, Hoover used premium ingredients, prepared from scratch, and partnered with local vendors and farmers — years before the phrase “farm to table” was first uttered.
In 2013, Hoover created The Patachou Foundation, an anti-hunger organization that creates innovative solutions and programs that address the root causes of hunger. To date, more than 500,000 healthy, nutritious meals have been served by The Patachou Foundation to schoolchildren who live with pervasive food insecurity.
In 2020, Hoover was nominated for Restaurateur of the Year by the James Beard Foundation for the sixth time; Food and Wine named her “One of The Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink”, Eater named her “Empire Builder of the Year”, Vogue Magazine profiled her and the company for their sustainability practices, and InStyle Magazine named her to their list of “50 Badass Women”.
Additionally, Bar One Fourteen was named one of the Best Bars in the US by Esquire Magazine, Café Patachou was named one of Restaurant Hospitality’s Top 25 Coolest Concepts, and Patachou Inc. was named among “19 great restaurants in the US to work for” by Food and Wine.