Good Morning America is helping one Houston restaurant recover from the effects of Hurricane Beryl. In a segment that aired Friday, July 19, correspondent Mireya Villarreal presented the owners of Dandelion Café in Bellaire with almost $15,000 in cash assistance for the restaurant and its employees.
The money came via a $4,800 grant from the Southern Smoke Foundation, the Houston-based nonprofit founded by chef Chris Shepherd and his wife Lindsey Brown that provides emergency relief to hospitality workers. In addition, Cash App contributed an additional $10,000.
Dandelion owners Sarah Lieberman and chef JC Ricks appeared on the segment and spoke about the challenges they’ve faced since the storm. Due to power outages, the cafe was closed for more than a week, costing employees their wages and forcing the restaurant to throw away thousands of dollars of food.
“This has been the hardest season we’ve been through as a business. Our staff and our employees are our number one priority,” Lieberman says. After receiving the checks she adds, “it really is amazing, because it will help us take care of our employees.”
Dandelion Cafe appeared on Good Morning America last year in a breakfast competition. Ricks’ cornbread waffle with chorizo-spiced fried chicken and spicy maple compound butter defeated The Breakfast Klub’s classic Creole-spiced chicken and waffle, earning Lieberman and Ricks a trip to New York to compete in the finals.
Since Hurricane Beryl made landfall, the Southern Smoke Foundation has received more than 800 applications for assistance, according to a release. The organization has granted more than $13 million to hospitality workers nationwide since 2017.
Photo by Shane Dante
Sarah Lieberman, JC Ricks, Mireya Villarreal, Chris Shepherd, and Lindsey Brown
Watch the full segment below:
