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The Series
Guiding this journey is Ben Ellsworth, who can tell the story of the American restaurant because he has lived it. From dishwasher to executive chef, Ben has spent 22 years in the trenches. His perspective bridges the worlds of the celebrated and the overlooked, delivering an unflinching yet deeply human message: every role matters.
We Built This City is a sweeping, fearless docuseries that uncovers the current crisis inside America’s independent restaurants and celebrates the people trying to solve it.
The seven episode series takes audiences on an unfiltered journey inside the real world of America’s restaurants. It reveals the personal stories of a diverse palette of characters and outrageous personalities, from servers and line cooks, to iconic restaurateurs, award-winning chefs, and visionary newcomers. It captures the intense energy and teamwork of food service operations – from the elegant to the down home. the series also reveals the widening gap between the polished, white-glove service guests experience and the inequities behind the scenes—where pay, recognition, and opportunity often remain out of balance. It also shines a light on the often hidden struggles with mental health and substance abuse that continue to challenge the hospitality industry nationwide.
We Built This City sets a course for positive change as it illuminates restaurants’ deep impact on our culture and the issues that threaten their survival.
The first goal of We Built This City is to fund, then create a five minute short film to present to networks, investors and celebrity attachments.
Director: Tom Wiggin
Producers: Jenn Wiggin, Allyson Rice, Tom Wiggin
Executive Producer: Ben Ellsworth
The Production Company
Jenn and Tom Wiggin and Allyson Rice are with Atomic Focus Entertainment, the company that produced the multi-award winning Documentary, Banned Together which was released in 2025. They are excited to be working on another feature doc with an important socially conscious theme!