World Central Kitchen is Feeding Hurricane Laura Victims and Still Needs Help — Updated
“We’ve been through Ike and every other hurricane but we never saw anything like this,” Sonya LeJeune of Lake Charles, Louisiana told me as she waited in line to pick up meals from a Walmart parking lot. There, World Central Kitchen (WCK) is handing out breakfast, lunch and dinner to anyone in need. The […]
Restaurant Workers Aren’t OK: Charities Issue Urgent Plea for Federal Assistance
Leaders of the Southern Smoke Foundation and the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation have released an urgent plea explaining just how dire the current economic crisis is for hospitality workers. In Houston alone, dining rooms are currently operating at 50% of regular guest occupancy. Bar workers are even worse off. Bars have been completely closed for […]
Houston-Based Charity for Hospitality Workers Extends a Hand to Chicago
The front page of the Southern Smoke Foundation website prominently displays the slogan “Taking care of our own.” In the wake of COVID-19, those words extend to members of the service industry nationwide, too. While Houston’s hospitality industry has felt the big, negative impact of the COVID-19 situation and related shutdowns, it is not the […]
Cleverley Stone’s Daughter Is Leading Houston Restaurant Weeks
Today, Houston Restaurant Weeks announced that Cleverley Stone’s daughter, Katie, is stepping into her mom’s role overseeing the annual fundraiser that supports the Houston Food Bank. Stone passed away recently after a difficult battle with uterine cancer but wanted the 17-year old multi-week charity event she founded to continue. This year, the dine-out fundraiser is […]
Restaurants Honor Cleverley Stone With Dining Fundraisers — Updated
Radio and television host Cleverley Stone, founder of Houston Restaurant Weeks, had a long and storied history with Houston restaurants and the dining public that lasted over two decades. Earlier this week, she passed away after a very difficult battle with uterine cancer, which she went public with in order to encourage women to not […]