a major mitzvah
Houston restaurants unite for one-day citywide fundraiser to feed Israelis in crisis
Ziggy Gruber "moved mountains" to organize Wednesday's fundraiser.
A group of Houston restaurants are participating in a citywide fundraiser to support relief efforts in Israel. Dubbed Mitzvah Meals, the one-day-only event will take place this Wednesday, November 1.
Organized through the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, the effort is being spearheaded by restauranteurs Itai Ben Eli, a partner in Sof Hospitality, and Ziggy Gruber, the chef and founder of Jewish American deli Kenny & Ziggy’s.
Participating restaurants will donate a portion of their November 1 sales to the Jewish Federation, which will direct the proceeds to the Israeli Restaurant Association (known as Taizu in Hebrew) and the A Restaurant Group that operates a number of successful concepts in Tel Aviv. They’ll use the money to prepare meals for people who have been displaced by the fighting along Israel’s borders with Gaza and Lebanon as well as the reservists who have been called up to defend Israel after the terrorist attacks by Hamas.
Ben Eli, an Israeli native who moved to Houston to open his steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, maintains strong ties with his homeland. He explains that many restaurants have turned into community kitchens that are being operated by volunteers, because some of their employees are reservists who have been called up to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
“These restaurants are doing this amazing work out of their own pockets,” Ben Eli tells CultureMap. “The initiative was to help them go on with this work in whatever way we can.”
All three of Ben Eli’s restaurants — Doris Metropolitan, Hamsa, and Badolina Bakery — are donating 100 percent of their proceeds to the endeavor, as is Kenny & Ziggy’s. Benjy Levit’s It Takes a Village Hospitality Group will also donate 100 percent of the proceeds from its French restaurant Eau Tour and wine bar Lees Den.
Berg Hospitality will donate 20 percent of proceeds from its restaurants Annabelle Brasserie, B.B. Italia, B.B. Lemon, B&B Butchers, Benny Chows, Nopo Cafe, The Annie Cafe, and Trattoria Sofia. Other participants include both locations of Jonathan’s the Rub (20 percent), KP’s Kitchen (20 percent), and Tonight & Tomorrow at La Colombe d’Or (15 percent). A number of kosher restaurants are participating, including Genesis Steakhouse, Laykie’s Cafe at the J, and Saba’s. New York Deli and Coffee Shop and Three Brothers Bakery, two staples of Houston’s Jewish community, are also part of the effort.
See a full list of participants here.
Ben Eli credits Gruber for “moving mountains” to make the project a reality by enlisting the assistance of the Jewish Federation, which is serving as the liaison between the Houston-based businesses and the nonprofits in Israel that will receive and distribute the funds. Although he’s known for his big personality, Gruber is modest about his reasons for participating in the endeavor and encouraging his fellow restaurateurs to join him.
“It’s the right thing to do as a human being. Number two, I do have a lot of friends and family who live in that area,” he says. Later, he adds, “It’s a mitzvah project. We need to take care of these people.”
Mitzvah Meals is part of the organization's larger Israel Emergency Fund that’s raised more than $7.5 million for relief efforts in areas such as relocating refugees, trauma counseling, and emergency medical services. The Jewish Federation serves an citywide coordinator for the community’s response to recent events and has organized rallies to bring the community together during a difficult time. Working with Houston’s restaurant community is a logical extension of those efforts.
“We want to support charitable impulses in our community, and partnering with great restaurants is a wonderful way to do that,” Renée Wizig-Barrios, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, explains.
“We believe that every dollar is a sacred trust to ensure those dollars go as far as possible to meet direct needs of the people we’re serving,” she adds.
Lindsey Brown, center, and 
Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu won Best Chef: Texas.Photo by Casey Giltner