Thanks to the following venues for their support of the Gulf Coast:

Blind Tiger Pub
Closed for Business
Manny's Grill
The Mill
Moe's Crosstown Tavern
Moe's Downtown Tavern
Monza
Poe's Tavern
Poogan's Porch
The Pourhouse
Social Wine Bar
Taco Boy Downtown
Taco Boy Folly Beach
The Tattooed Moose
Torch Velvet Lounge
Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge

Thursday, July 22, 2010

via Nola.com:

Wings and a prayer: One brown pelican's journey of hope

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Drink Up and Revfood's Abita Promotion "A Smashing Success"!

REV LLC Abita Promotion for GNOF is a smashing success!
Local Restaurant group raises an unprecedented amount of money during a weeklong promotion to benefit the Greater New Orleans Foundation Oil Spill Fund…

When REV LLC (owners of Poe’s Tavern, Taco Boy, Monza and Closed for Business) was approached five weeks ago to participate in Drink Up for the Gulf Coast, a fundraiser benefitting the Greater New Orleans Foundation Oil Spill Fund, there was no question as to whether or not they would participate. “For us it was a matter of timing, should we plan the promotion around the July 4th Holiday weekend or should we wait and do it later in July,” says Phoebe Byers, Director of Marketing & Development for REV LLC. “Ultimately we decided to capitalize on the Holiday weekend and go for it.”

REV chose to promote the sale of Abita beer, which is brewed in Louisiana, just North of Lake Ponchartrain. Aaron Lucas, who heads up the beer program at Closed for Business, was able to acquire some Abita glassware and t-shirts from a local beer distributor in addition to two different types of Abita beer, Purple Haze and Andygator.
The decision to promote the fundraiser during the July 4th weekend proved to be a success for REV. They raised almost $11,000 during the week long promotion!

“It was my goal to raise $10,000. I knew we could do that if we motivated our staff and spread the word to the Charleston community about how simple it was to give back to people and communities whose lives had just been devastated,” Byers says.
In addition to promoting the event heavily through social media outlets and promotional material at the restaurants, REV incentivized their staff members by offering a prize to the server with the highest sales: a free trip for two to New Orleans. “Who could pass up a free trip to New Orleans? We knew that extra push would really get the staff motivated to sell as much Abita as possible and in turn raise money for a serious cause,” says Karalee Nielsen, owner of REV LLC. Ultimately, REV decided to offer the trip to two different servers from two different restaurants, Janelle Riolo from Closed for Business and Abby Lineberry from Poe’s Tavern. “Each server sold over 130 beers and deserved a reward for their efforts,” says Nielsen.

All the money raised during the promotion will go directly to the Greater New Orleans Foundation Oil Spill Fund and in particular to fishermen whose businesses have been devastated by the oil spill. Recent reports show that fishermen in communities surrounding the Gulf Coast have been seriously affected by the spill. The stigma attached to the pollution in the ocean and what is yet to come is just as much of a cause for the downturn in business as is the oil spill itself. For communities and people whose livelihoods depend on resources from the Gulf, this disaster is life changing and will surely be difficult to recover from for years to come.

“As a coastal community, Charleston residents realize how distressing a disaster of this nature would be to their shores,” says Byers. “That definitely helped motivate people to get out and support their fellow countrymen. We were happy to do our part to help out the Gulf Coast community.”

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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Drink Up in "Charleston Scene"

http://www.charlestonscene.com/news/2010/jul/08/08drink/

Okay, so there are some issues with this article (Jimmy Galle is not actually a fisherman, but his company, Gulfish, works directly with independent fishermen on the Gulf Coast to distribute seafood to Bay Area restaurants, and his fundraising effort, Dine Out for the Gulf Coast, got some national publicity, just no local publicity) but still, it's press! Thanks for the plug, Denise!