TAYLORS, S.C. (June 2, 2010) -Fatz Cafe has recently raised more than $142,000 by serving pancake breakfasts in partnership with local charities throughout the Southeast.
The restaurants, which are typically open only for lunch and
dinner, open their doors early to provide all the food along with
cooks, servers and promotional marketing materials.
Non-profit partners, which include schools, churches, community
groups and youth sports organizations, provide additional
volunteers and help spread the word, and in return get to keep all
of the proceeds. These events also help individuals and
families who find themselves in dire need of assistance.
"Our goal is to help as many different community organizations
as possible by inviting them to participate in a breakfast
fundraiser at Fatz Cafe," said Margo Mize, director of marketing
for Fatz Cafe, which operates 47 restaurants in the Carolinas,
Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. "We value our relationships with
these organizations and we hope our combined efforts make a
difference in the communities we serve."
Tickets for pancake breakfasts are $7 (free for children 6 and
under) and include pancakes, sausage, fruit, coffee, tea and orange
juice.
Organizations like Hidden Wounds, a non-profit organization in
Columbia, S.C., that offers medical and psychological services to
sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, say
they have raised not only much-needed funding, but also heightened
awareness of their organization by partnering with Fatz Cafe for a
benefit breakfast.
"Fatz Cafe couldn't have done more to promote our cause," said
Chris Younts, chief operating officer of Hidden Wounds. "The
benefit breakfast was a collaborative effort to assist military
personnel and it was the largest fundraising event we've had
yet."
Fatz Cafe's pancake breakfasts also assisted the efforts of the
Columbia, S.C., chapter of the United Way. Mac Bennett, president
and CEO of United Way of the Midlands, believes fundraising efforts
like Fatz Cafe's pancake breakfasts demonstrate the company's
commitment to the areas it serves.
"Fundraising events like the pancake breakfast that Fatz Cafe
hosted benefit United Way of the Midlands in more ways than one,"
said Bennett. "Not only did we raise several hundred dollars
to improve lives in the Midlands, but our staff and volunteers
bonded by serving pancakes to those who attended and we had a
unique opportunity to bring people together to rally around a cause
and enjoy a delicious breakfast at the same time. We applaud
the staff at Fatz Cafe for coming with an innovative way for a
corporate partner to give back to the community."
"The pancake breakfasts have been extremely important to Fatz
Cafe and our associates because they provide us with a way to give
back to our local communities," said Richie Cannon, chief operating
officer of Cafe Enterprises, parent company of Fatz Cafe. "We hope
more community organizations will contact their local Fatz Cafe
restaurant and explore the possibility of hosting a pancake
breakfast of their own."
For more information and a complete listing of Fatz Cafe
locations, visitwww.fatz.com.
###
About Cafe Enterprises
The first Fatz Cafe opened in a converted fruit shed in
Spartanburg, S.C., in November 1988. Cafe Enterprises Inc.
was formed to serve as the parent company to the new restaurant and
the others that would follow. Headquartered in Taylors, S.C.,
Cafe Enterprises now owns and operates 47 Fatz Cafe restaurants
throughout the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia and
employs over 3,600 associates. Fatz Cafe, ranked #52 in the
2007 South Carolina 100SM list of the state's largest privately
owned companies, has also been named one of the nation's top 400
restaurant concepts by Restaurants & Institutions magazine for
the past seven years, most recently ranking #245. In 2008,
Chain Leader magazine included Fatz Cafe in its "Top 50 Chains
Under 50 Units." For more information visit www.fatz.com.
