Restaurants, chefs rally to help feed those affected by Hurricane Harvey

Volunteers at Antone's Po'Boys make sandwiches Tuesday ﻿to deliver to shelters, first responders and people at Texas Children's Hospital. Volunteers at Antone's Po'Boys make sandwiches Tuesday ﻿to deliver to shelters, first responders and people at Texas Children's Hospital. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Restaurants, chefs rally to help feed those affected by Hurricane Harvey 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

They had the dough, so they made the pizza.

Even though the floodwater was creeping in and the power was out at Frank's Pizza on Travis Street downtown, the owners went into action, moving pizza-making operations to their take-out facility across the street on Prairie that had electricity and began making hundreds of pizzas Monday. Those hot pies ended up at a Houston Police Department station on Travis and at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where major disaster relief efforts were underway.

"When we got there, the officers were soaking wet. I'm not joking, they had only a sad plate of old chicken wings. They had no other food," said Callie Easterly, who delivered the pizza with her mother and father-in-law, Debbie and Eddie Love, owners of Frank's Pizza. "They started cheering us and hugging us. We said we're the ones who should be cheering them."

On Tuesday, the Loves were attempting to move a giant dough-making machine across the street to their site that has electricity so they can continue making pizza for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

"My mom and step-dad are givers. They love downtown Houston," Easterly said. "They said if they have this dough, they might as well use it."

There were instances like this throughout Houston as the city's restaurant industry pitched in to help feed evacuees, first responders and emergency personnel in whatever way they could.

Aided by friends of friends, the owners of Antone's Po'Boys on Monday were able to get to their commissary on North Post Oak and rescue 2,000 pre-made sandwiches and take them to the Houston Police Department's police union headquarters. On Tuesday, they hoped to make more sandwiches and bring them to the hungry.

"Every time there's some sort of disaster or emergency it's overwhelming to see the level of compassion, dedication and selflessness on the part of the restaurant community," said Jonathan Horowitz, CEO of Legacy Restaurants, which owns Antone's. "The willingness to help is extraordinary."

Horowitz also is president of the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, which represents 12,000 restaurants in the area. He estimated that about 90 percent of Houston restaurants were closed on Tuesday.

Still, many pitched in. Killen's Barbecue in Pearland, Beaver's and El Patio on Westheimer, Peli Peli Kitchen, Dish Society, Taqueria Arandas and Black's Market Table on Loretta, among other restaurants, all fed first responders for free. Others, such as Presidio in the Heights and El Bolillo Bakery, delivered food to local shelters and the hungry.

Chef Claire Smith of Canopy restaurant is coordinating with the command center at George R. Brown to provide 1,500 meals a day (500 each for breakfast, lunch and dinner) to feed emergency personnel. Chef Arnaldo Richards of Picos restaurant was able to get 600 meals on Sunday and 1,000 meals on Monday to local Red Cross workers. This was on top of being open, even on a limited basis, to the public at his Kirby restaurant. Since none of his vendors were able to make deliveries, he used his own vehicle to get provisions so Picos could continue operations.

"Even during Ike we opened right away," said Monica Richards, beverage director at Picos. "We understand how devastating this is. People need to have some semblance of normalcy."

Houston chef Richard Knight (formerly of Feast and Hunky Dory) used his own canoe to rescue people in the Heights on Sunday. On Monday, he and dozens of chef friends began setting up operations to prepare food for first responders and local police, working out of space donated by Les Ba'get on Montrose.

"It's getting the food out right now to those who need it," Knight said. "What we're doing shows how close we are."

The efforts to help feed displaced residents and the workers servicing them are coming from well beyond the local Houston restaurant scene, too. Restaurateurs from Dallas and Austin are organizing fundraising efforts and coordinating food delivery.

Even the national barbecue community is weighing in. Operation BBQ Relief, a national nonprofit group of competition pitmasters who respond to natural disasters, has pledged to come to Houston said spokesman Patrick Banks. "We'll have hundreds of people mobilized when we get off the ground," Banks said Tuesday, adding that trailers of food and equipment have been loaded in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi and are on the way to Houston. Once they arrive, the group will work with the city to find the best place for set up to begin cooking for evacuees and first responders. The volunteer pitmasters (see more at operationbbqrelief.org) are capable of cooking up to 35,000 plates of food per day.

"Anyone needing a hot meal, we'll feed," Banks said. "We're using our God-given talents to help people in their greatest need."

When their operations get underway in Houston, hopefully by Wednesday if the roads are passable, Banks said it will be the organization's largest relief effort to date.