The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group – with the help of charitable partners and donations – will have produced over 25,000 meals to feed those in need by this coming Monday (April 27) for various charity initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic since March 25.
The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group currently averages about 1,100 produced meals a day for those in need, and they are ramping up their efforts to feed even more people in need over the next few weeks.
“When the hospitality industry got shut down, we saw right away there would be a need to feed our own staff, other hospitality workers, and others in need,” The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group co-founders Greg Mohr and Scott Weiner said. “We pivoted our operations as quickly as possible to set up The Fifty/50 and West Town Bakery & Diner into relief centers. The demand for meals by those in need is high, and it will only increase in the short term. We are humbled and honored and grateful to be feeding people. And we want to keep feeding more and more people in need as long as possible.”
When the government mandated shutdown of dine-in/sit-down service at restaurants and bars began on March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group had to shut down 17 of their 20 restaurants and bars. Only the three Roots Handmade Pizza locations remain open for delivery and curbside pickup.
On March 17, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group had to furlough/not seasonally re-hire about 590 of 650 employees. The charitable partnerships over the past month have allowed The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group to hire back about 50 additional employees (to bring the current company total up to 110 employees) to help prep, cook, package, and distribute the 20,000+ meals in need. After covering food cost and kitchen labor, all monetary donation surpluses have gone toward producing additional free meals to those in need.
About 19,000 of those 25,000+ meals for those in need have been produced for food drives at The Fifty/50 sports bar and West Town Bakery & Diner.
On March 27, The Fifty/50 sports bar (2047 W Division St) launched an initiative to feed anyone in need funded by an anonymous Chicago tech CEO and online donations (https://givebutter.com/fifty50...). Those in need can get a free meal – no questions asked – from 4pm to 6:30pm every day except Mondays at The Fifty/50 sports bar. This location is now putting out close to 500 meals each day of operation.
On March 31, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group took over producing free meals and grocery essentials for all restaurant industry workers in need at West Town Bakery & Diner (1916 W Chicago Ave) in a partnership with The LEE Initiative (https://leeinitiative.org), Chef Edward Lee, and Maker's Mark. Those restaurant service industry workers can get a free meal and groceries from 4pm to 6:30pm every day at West Town Bakery & Diner. This location is now putting out close to 300 meals every day.
About 6,000 of those 25,000+ meals for those in need have come from partnerships with about 15 other charities and organizations.
On April 9, Chef Lamar Moore partnered with The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group and chef and humanitarian Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org/) to produce hundreds of meals each week in the Roots Handmade Pizza location in Old Town to feed frontline healthcare workers at various hospitals (Lurie Children’s Hospital and UIC Hospital) and community centers (The Montessori School of Englewood). This partnership was World Central Kitchen’s first initiative in Chicago to feed those in need.
The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group has also partnered with other charitable organizations for meals for those in need over the last month including Frontline Foods (https://www.frontlinefoods.org) to feed additional frontline hospital workers, Off Their Plate (https://offtheirplate.org) to provide meals to Lawndale Christian Health Center and others, feeding the National Guard at McCormick Place, Ryan Chiaverini's #ERChallenge, A Safe Haven, Chicago Commons, Lakeview Pantry, Common Pantry’s “I Am Your Neighbor,” Chicago Care Package with Goose Island, police and fire department first responders, and more.
The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group – with the help of charitable partners and donations – will have produced over 25,000 meals to feed those in need by this coming Monday (April 27) for various charity initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic since March 25.
The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group currently averages about 1,100 produced meals a day for those in need, and they are ramping up their efforts to feed even more people in need over the next few weeks.
“When the hospitality industry got shut down, we saw right away there would be a need to feed our own staff, other hospitality workers, and others in need,” The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group co-founders Greg Mohr and Scott Weiner said. “We pivoted our operations as quickly as possible to set up The Fifty/50 and West Town Bakery & Diner into relief centers. The demand for meals by those in need is high, and it will only increase in the short term. We are humbled and honored and grateful to be feeding people. And we want to keep feeding more and more people in need as long as possible.”
When the government mandated shutdown of dine-in/sit-down service at restaurants and bars began on March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group had to shut down 17 of their 20 restaurants and bars. Only the three Roots Handmade Pizza locations remain open for delivery and curbside pickup.
On March 17, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group had to furlough/not seasonally re-hire about 590 of 650 employees. The charitable partnerships over the past month have allowed The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group to hire back about 50 additional employees (to bring the current company total up to 110 employees) to help prep, cook, package, and distribute the 20,000+ meals in need. After covering food cost and kitchen labor, all monetary donation surpluses have gone toward producing additional free meals to those in need.
About 19,000 of those 25,000+ meals for those in need have been produced for food drives at The Fifty/50 sports bar and West Town Bakery & Diner.
On March 27, The Fifty/50 sports bar (2047 W Division St) launched an initiative to feed anyone in need funded by an anonymous Chicago tech CEO and online donations (https://givebutter.com/fifty50...). Those in need can get a free meal – no questions asked – from 4pm to 6:30pm every day except Mondays at The Fifty/50 sports bar. This location is now putting out close to 500 meals each day of operation.
On March 31, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group took over producing free meals and grocery essentials for all restaurant industry workers in need at West Town Bakery & Diner (1916 W Chicago Ave) in a partnership with The LEE Initiative (https://leeinitiative.org), Chef Edward Lee, and Maker's Mark. Those restaurant service industry workers can get a free meal and groceries from 4pm to 6:30pm every day at West Town Bakery & Diner. This location is now putting out close to 300 meals every day.
About 6,000 of those 25,000+ meals for those in need have come from partnerships with about 15 other charities and organizations.
On April 9, Chef Lamar Moore partnered with The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group and chef and humanitarian Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org/) to produce hundreds of meals each week in the Roots Handmade Pizza location in Old Town to feed frontline healthcare workers at various hospitals (Lurie Children’s Hospital and UIC Hospital) and community centers (The Montessori School of Englewood). This partnership was World Central Kitchen’s first initiative in Chicago to feed those in need.
The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group has also partnered with other charitable organizations for meals for those in need over the last month including Frontline Foods (https://www.frontlinefoods.org) to feed additional frontline hospital workers, Off Their Plate (https://offtheirplate.org) to provide meals to Lawndale Christian Health Center and others, feeding the National Guard at McCormick Place, Ryan Chiaverini's #ERChallenge, A Safe Haven, Chicago Commons, Lakeview Pantry, Common Pantry’s “I Am Your Neighbor,” Chicago Care Package with Goose Island, police and fire department first responders, and more.
Comments
View Comments (0 )
Never miss an eat.
Sign up for breaking news from the Chicago food scene.
Follow Us
Recommended Articles
Like us on Facebook for exclusive news and pictures from the Chicago Food Scene!