SWFL RESTAURANTS STEP UP

LOCAL FOOD INDUSTRY HELPS WITH POST-DORIAN BAHAMAS RELIEF EFFORTS.

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Two local restaurants have upcoming fundraising events to benefit the Bahamas, while others jumped on the bandwagon immediately.

On Thursday, Sept. 19, Sails Restaurant in Naples will co-host an elegant Sail Forward Bahamas event starting with cocktails at 6 p.m. and seated dinner at 6:30. The suggested minimum donation for the four-course champagne dinner is $500. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event will benefit those recovering from Hurricane Dorian via Community Foundation of Collier County’s Hurricane Dorian Disaster Relief Fund.

Champagne Louis Roederer also co-hosts the event, and brand ambassador Thierry Wallaert will generously be pouring the house’s prestige cuvées, including its renowned Cristal.

“Watching the devastation unfold in the Bahamas saddened us deeply,” said Sails co-owner Veljko Pavicevic. “We are so grateful for everything we have, and it could have easily been shattered in a moment as we saw the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian.”

Seating for the event is limited and available by calling Sails at 239.360.2000 or emailing.

On Saturday evening, Sept. 21, Artisan Eatery in Fort Myers presents Bingo for the Bahamas starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for five bingo games with proceeds going to Southwest Florida Community Foundation to benefit hurricane victims.

The little restaurant has been filled to the brim since the cat-5 hurricane with donations of clothing, water, food and other supplies, says co-owner Haely Yoa, who vacationed in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, since childhood and has friends suffering from the storm’s aftermath. She and her husband, Tim, partner with Stokes Marina to transport the supplies.

Bravo and thanks to other restaurants and food industry businesses that have used their resources to come to the aid of Bahamian hurricane victims. Here are a few who helped out.

  • Broadway Palm employees volunteered to pack 1,000 bagged lunches for the victims. The Fort Myers dinner theater also put out a request on social media for specific supplies and collected more than 6,000 pounds of donations at the theater in 12 hours. Broadway Palm owner Will Prather made two days of trips back and forth to the Bahamas by plane to deliver the lunches and most-needed supplies. They trucked the rest to meet a barge on Florida’s east coast.
  • Lamoraga Restaurant in Naples donated 25 percent of all sales made on Sept. 14 – a total of $1,000 – through the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.
  • Venue Naples was among the first to offer space to collect supplies. According to its web site, its donations operation now has shifted to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. Norman Love Confections continues to accept donations at its original Fort Myers location, 11380 Lindbergh Boulevard.
  • Nomiki’s Plakka Greek Restaurant in Fort Myers and Bubba’s Roadhouse & Saloon in Cape Coral have partnered to sell Hurricane Dorian T-shirts in all sizes to benefit people in the Bahamas. The colorful shirts sell for $12, $9 of which gets donated.
  • In Bonita Springs, catering company Artichoke and Company hosted a four-course Bahamian dinner on Sept. 14 to raise funds, in partnership with Voice of Deliverance Church in Nassau.