Waiters and waitresses will leave the Nitty Gritty Restaurant and Bar, 223 N. Frances, with empty pockets Wednesday in a nationwide effort to raise money for the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund.
The Nitty Gritty will be donating 20 percent of its food and bar sales and 100 percent of staff tips from its 33rd birthday celebration on Oct. 3.
Employees at the bar have donated a percentage of their tips for the past week to the collection and will continue donating for another week.
Gritty employees decided to donate their tips to the relief effort on their own.
“The staff came up to us in the wake of the tragic events and said they wanted to try to do something,” General Manager Lee Pier said. “A sign-up sheet was posted for people who wanted to do this, and it was full within a day.”
Because staff response to the idea was so great, the Nitty Gritty opted to have the fundraiser on its birthday rather than get a cake and have a traditional celebration.
“We’ve got 100 people on staff, and everybody wanted to do something to help,” Pier said. “Of course, not everyone can work that night, so some people have been donating a percentage of their tips from each night they work.”
The Nitty Gritty hopes the public will support the donation plan and help raise as much money as possible. Wait and bar staff are encouraging customers and friends to attend, flyers have been posted, and a large banner explaining the event hangs in the hallway of the restaurant.
“We want to get as many people as possible in here on Wednesday,” Pier said. “And hopefully people will leave larger tips than they usually would because they are actually making a donation.”
Although the current amount raised is unknown, Pier said he has an unofficial goal for the total amount of money donated.
“It would be nice to raise $2000 over the two week period with tips and food sales,” Pier said. “I would like to say I was part of a $2000 contribution rather than say I donated a couple of dollars.”
Other restaurants statewide are also exploring fundraising efforts. Members of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and industry suppliers will collect money over the next month to donate to the New York Restaurant Employees Disaster Fund.
WRA member restaurants will be making contributions and encouraging employees and customers to contribute as well. Donations from all restaurants around the state will be combined and presented to New York disaster relief funds on Oct. 28. The WRA Board of Directors has already made a $5000 donation to kick-start the fundraising effort.
“This is the first fund dedicated to those who were a vital part of the hospitality industry,” WRA President and CEO Ed Lump said in a statement. “Many of those employees may not have had the pensions needed to see their families through this disaster.”
The National Restaurant Association has declared Tuesday, Oct. 11 “Dine for America” day. Restaurants are encouraged to donate a percentage of their profit from the day to various relief efforts.
