R&I Viewpoint: Community Spirits

The NRA’s Restaurant Neighbor Awards show why the industry is a model of excellence

By Patricia Dailey, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, 9/15/2004

Much attention is directed to restaurants and their business, social and cultural roles. Reviewers alternately send choruses of hosannas or toss brickbats, depending on how well they enjoyed their meals. Sitting far away from kitchens of any kind, analysts comment—negatively, positively and sometimes cynically—on nearly everything about public companies—the dollars, scandals, management snafus and future prospects. Almost by rote, disparagements spill out about industry careers—the quality of jobs and those who hold them. And of late, an unexpectedly large amount of coverage is churned out on obesity.

To get a real measure of restaurants, though, it can be helpful to take a step back from that which is upfront and obvious and seek a kinder, truer spirit. The National Restaurant Association’s annual Restaurant Neighbor Awards, which spotlight charitable actions quietly undertaken by operators, is a pretty handy place to start. From hundreds of nominations emerges a nearly endless list of reasons why, at its best, the industry is a cornerstone, an exemplar and a model of initiative and excellence.

Those—from among the state restaurant association winners—represent acts of genuine kindness from small operators who every day scrap and sweat and toil to create success; along the way, they carve out time and resources to share the wealth, extending it to those for whom circumstances are not quite so kind.

Nationally, 2004 honorees include a Humanitarian Award for Wayne Kostroski of Cuisine Concepts in Minneapolis, and the founder of Taste of the NFL, an event that has raised more than $5 million for hunger relief; The Common Man Family of Restaurants, based in Ashland, N.H., which supports 30-plus charities; and Legends Restaurant at the Hilton Wichita (Kan.) Airport for raising funds and renovating homes for elderly area residents.

The awards are presented this month in Washington, D.C., accompanied by accolades and attention—all richly deserved. After that, each of the winners undoubtedly will go back to their jobs and restaurants, and carry on their chosen roles as businesspeople and, no less importantly, as Restaurant Neighbors.