Restaurant News

Restaurants Across The Nation Helping Hurricane Victims

On Tuesday, September 27th Restaurants for Relief  One Meal, One Night, One Nation, a program of OpenTable, Share Our Strength and Windows of Hope will bring together restaurants across the nation for one night to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Participating restaurants will designate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to be donated to Share Our Strength’s Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. 100% of the donations will benefit local organizations in the affected areas, providing relief to hurricane victims and assisting the families in the hospitality industry who were also affected by the disaster.

The three organizations are coordinating a national outreach effort to chefs, restaurants and diners. OpenTable is recruiting participants from among the 3,500 restaurants using its service and is urging the millions of diners who use to dine at a participating restaurant on September 27th. In addition, OpenTable will donate 100% of any profits associated with the Restaurants for Relief program. Share Our Strength is reaching out to its network of chefs, restaurants and attendees who participate in its annual Taste of the Nation events in 60 cities across the country. Windows of Hope is also reaching out to its network of restaurants, all of which supported the hospitality families who had members lost in the attacks of September 11.

“We are deeply concerned about the estimated 500,000 people displaced by this terrible disaster, and we’re acutely aware that our help is needed now more than ever,” said Bill Shore, founder and executive director of Share Our Strength. “Against a catastrophe of this scale, it sometimes seems impossible to do anything that feels significant, but it’s also clear that every effort helps. I'm inspired by how many people have contacted us wanting urgently to share their strengths at this moment.”

“I am awed at the generosity of the restaurant community and the speed with which restaurateurs responded to this urgent appeal,” said OpenTable CEO Thomas Layton.

“We learned from the tremendous outpouring of support Windows of Hope received after 9/11 how the hospitality industry is always eager to help those in need,” said the Windows of Hope Board of Directors. “When we learned of the Restaurants for Relief – One Meal, One Night, One Nation appeal, it was natural that Windows of Hope would partner in the effort.”

In addition to the growing list of participating restaurants, the program is being generously supported by the Council of Independent Restaurants of America, The Anthony Spinnazola Foundation, StarChefs, James Beard Foundation, Food and Wine, Gourmet Magazine, Bon Appetite, Viking Range Corporation, PepsiCo, Tuesday's Children, and September 11th Families Association.