IFC restaurant charity event attracts fewer participants

Bad weather on Tuesday night may have hurt a charity event that was already seeing fewer participants than last year.

Irene Briggaman, the founder of Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s Restaurants Sharing 10 Percent program, said this was the first time she could remember stormy weather on the day of the event in its 21 years.

The event raises money for hunger programs of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service and has traditionally drawn customers for participating restaurants.

But R&R Grill, a first-time participant, made less than they made last Tuesday.

“The weather really killed us,” owner Rob Moll said. “It’s not as great as we thought it was going to be.”

He said the restaurant made about $130 to give to the cause.

Last year, 103 restaurants participated. This year, there were 95.

Though Durham and Raleigh restaurants usually participate, this year they decided not to, said John Dorward, the associate director for the IFC, who said he went out to Provence in Carrboro for dinner.

Chapel Hill normally has the highest total, he said.

Exact contributions will not be released until early next year, after restaurants have paid the Inter-Faith Council.

The general manager of Crook’s Corner Cafe & Bar, which has participated in the program since 1989, said the restaurant did not see any difference from usual Tuesday night business.

“I mentioned it to a few customers, but they had no idea about it,” Shannon Healy said. “There used to be a very noticeable bump in business in past years.”

Healy said the decrease in business for Crook’s Corner could be because more businesses are involved now, which gives participants more options.

Panzanella, an Italian restaurant in Carrboro, has taken part in the event for a number of years.

“The revenue compared to previous years was less than we normally do,” Panzanella manager Paola Cisarano said. “I have a feeling it had to do with the weather.”

There were about 80 customers who came to Panzanella’s lunch on Tuesday, which was about the same as last year’s event, she said.

The restaurant usually has about 65 lunch customers daily.

“We usually have seated about 120 people for dinner in past years; we had about 90 people last night,” Cisarano said. “The weather was so horrible. I’m sure a lot of people chose to stay home.”

Not all restaurants saw a decline.

The Weathervane in Chapel Hill, which also has participated since 1989, saw many customers throughout the day, general manager and executive chef Patrick Cowden said.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I do know it will be our best contribution to date,” he said.

Briggaman said she ate out for all three meals yesterday.

“I think it’s wonderful that 95 restaurants chose to help us out,” she said. “We are very fortunate at this time that so many restaurants still chose to support this project.”

 
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