FAIRMONT --  Planners are hoping it will be the perfect marriage, between education and revitalization. Fairmont State has partnered with the City of Fairmont to open a new business that, it hopes, will be the catalyst for even more businesses to move into the area.

Its not a new concept, taking kids out of the classroom and putting them into the workforce to get real world experience. The culinary school at Pierpont Community and Technical College is taking it a step further, by opening a restaurant that aims to benefit the entire city.

"It's an exciting project, that is basically moving the community college into downtown Fairmont," said Chef Brian Floyd, the Culinary Arts program coordinator.

The Culinary Arts School at Pierpont Community and Technical College is looking into opening its own restaurant, a downtown bistro.

"They're going to put us into the Bistro place to get us more work force then we already do in here," said first year culinary student Drew Clutter.

"Our goal really, is first and foremost, education and to give students a learning experience," said Floyd.

The process of opening the restaurant is turing into a benefit for the entire city. The college is using a $20,000 federal grant to do a market analysis to find out what the community wants. It is gathering data through an online survey.

"The things we are learning, the information we are finding out, we want to provide to other restaurants interested in as well," said Floyd.

Mainstreet Fairmont works to revitalize the downtown area and says the information and restaurant are welcome in the city.

"This is a wonderful idea, and it would definitely be a great catalyst for the revitalization effort," said Vera Sansalone, the director of Mainstreet Fairmont.

The culinary school has not picked an exact location for the restaurant yet, but say they have two strong possibilities in downtown Fairmont near Adams Street. There is not a definitive menu yet either, but Chef Brian Floyd says he plans to mix traditional local cuisine, with a new and healthy flare.

You can participate in the culinary survey, just go to the link belwo. The results of that survey should be analysed in about 6 to 8 weeks.