Birmingham Restaurant Week & Tito’s Handmade Vodka Donates $2,500 to the AL Hospitality Workers Relief Fund

BRW & Tito’s Handmade Vodka collaborate in a donation to help local hospitality employees in need of financial assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving back to the community is at the heart of Birmingham Restaurant Week’s (BRW) mission. It is at the forefront of everything we do, which is why during BRW 2021 – Winter Edition, we – along with Tito’s Handmade Vodka – chose to support local hospitality workers during the time they needed it most. We are pleased to collaborate with Tito’s Handmade Vodka to give $2,500 to the people that continuously serve our local restaurants and bars with a donation to the AL Hospitality Workers Relief Fund.

Organized through the Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association (ARHA), the fund was created in March 2020 to provide emergency assistance to hospitality workers in Alabama affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund has raised over $100,000 to benefit those who have had hours cut or who lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 has been devastating to the restaurant industry, and we are so grateful for what Birmingham Restaurant Week and Tito’s Handmade Vodka have done to support our industry,” said President & CEO of Montgomery’s ARHA, Mindy Hanan.“This donation has been very meaningful to the recipients, and we look forward to helping so many more people with it.” 

ARHA represents over 1,200 members including restaurants, lodging, tourism and hospitality service companies. The food service, hospitality and tourism industry is Alabama’s second-largest employer–making these workers the cornerstone of the state’s economy.

“We are happy to give back to an organization that takes care of those suffering from the pandemic, especially to the industry we work to support and promote through Birmingham Restaurant Week,” said Bill Stoeffhaas, Co-Founder of BRW. “Birmingham Restaurant Week is not only about eating and drinking–it’s about uplifting the culinary and beverage community in any way we can. As a longtime sponsor of BRW, Tito’s always shows up when the community has a need, and we’re honored to collaborate with them on this initiative.”

This donation was made possible through the philanthropic arm of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, “Love, Tito’s.” The goal of Love, Tito’s is to turn spirits into love and goodness by joining forces with nonprofits to host events, participate in service projects, and give back to communities in meaningful ways. Tito’s empowers employees, customers, and fans to make the world a better place through Love, Tito’s, and the company has supported thousands of nonprofits over the years. During the pandemic, Tito’s has donated millions to nonprofits across the U.S. in support of COVID-19 relief efforts and made it a priority to focus on and support the service industry and hospitality workers.

“Everything we do at Tito’s is rooted in giving back to the communities we serve,” said Trip Cobb, Central Field Sales Manager for Tito’s Handmade Vodka. “We owe everything to the folks in the service industry – their hard work, passion and endless advocacy have been an integral part in making Tito’s what it is today, and we thank Birmingham Restaurant Week for inviting us to help this very worthy cause.”

Over the course of 12 years, BRW has raised more than $75,000 for local nonprofits, and our goal is to continue doing so for many years to come. We look forward to helping more restaurants, bars, food trucks, nonprofits and the Birmingham community during Birmingham Restaurant Week 2021 taking place August 12-29, 2021.

To learn more about the AL Hospitality Workers Relief Fund, click here. For more information about ARHA, visit www.arhaonline.com. Keep up with more BRW details on our blog here, and be sure to follow us @BhamRestWeek on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!