For almost two months now, the ongoing health crisis has exacted a devastating toll on the hospitality business, forcing even the Mayor of Flavortown himself, Guy Fieri, to close down his restaurants. But instead of just sitting there and hoping for things to turn around, Fieri sprung into action to make sure the most vulnerable food workers are taken care of during these unprecedented times.
While dialing into TMZ Live on Thursday, Fieri revealed how he was able to raise over $20 million by reaching out to CEOs from companies like Pepsi, Coke, Uber Eats, and others and encouraging them to partner up with the National Restaurant Association to get grants out to struggling workers. Over the past two months, Fieri has sent out over 40,000 grants, and he’s not looking to stop anytime soon.
As for the future of the restaurant industry, Fieri has some interesting thoughts on which kinds of restaurants can adapt to the “new normal” once they’re able to open up albeit under stricter guidelines. He also has some bad news for which kind of restaurants aren’t going to survive this storm.
You can watch Fieri’s interview below:
Of course, this kind of generosity is just par for the course for Fieri. While the flamboyant chef has been the butt of jokes for his Smash Mouth-esque appearance and inventing Donkey Sauce, beneath all of that, Fieri is a caring soul who’s out here doing things like quietly officiating same-sex marriages to honor his late sister Morgan. Because if there’s one thing Fieri firmly believes in it’s being yourself and never forgetting where you came from. In this case, the Diners, Drive-In, and Dives host knows exactly what it’s like to struggle to make a living in the restaurant business, so it only makes sense that Fieri would step up for workers who just had their lives turned upside down.
(Via TMZ)
