From Burritos to Lunch Boxes, It’s the Little Things That Count
Written By: Taylor Gorski Charitable companies
The way that our community has come together during this time is inspiring and moving. Business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals have stepped up to help those in need.
We love seeing these stories and are sharing just a few from our local community.
Charitable companies
1 | Burritos for the Brave! Charitable companies
Casero Taqueria, San Diego
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Clayton Wheeler, co-owner of Casero Taqueria, partnered with his father, Mark Wheeler, who owns Encinitas Ford to donate burritos to hospital workers around San Diego. After donating 1,300 burritos, they decided to keep the giving going. The father-son duo started a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $15,000; every dollar contributed would be matched by Encinitas Ford. Their goal is to donate 3,700 burritos to frontline responders such as fire departments, police stations and any public service out there.
“It was actually my mom’s idea for my dad and I to partner up and do something. We collaborated as a family and came up with this. It just felt like the right thing to do to support the community and those who have supported us for so long,” Clayton explains. While Casero Taqueria is closed right now, they have reopened for the donations, and are looking to open for takeout and delivery on May 1st. “The response from the front line has been incredible, and they’re always out there greeting us,” Clayton says. He adds, “It’s been really cool to see the restaurant industry as a whole band together.
2 | A Helping Hand Charitable companies
Wahoo’s, Orange County
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Wing Lam, CEO of Wahoo’s, went to his printer to make a banner and realized that the signs and fabric were all the same material. He began making face shields and masks with the Wahoo’s logo on it. “The face shields are even FDA approved,” Lam states. Lam has been delivering lunches to local hospitals. “I needed one of these [face shields] to keep myself safe for deliveries at homes, police departments, hospitals and businesses,” Lam explains. Bradley Applegate has partnered with Wing Lam to raise money and donate face shields to those in need; for every $100 raised, 50 face shields are donated.
“The idea that you’re doing something and spreading the word, it helps. My friends at Yogurtland are hardly doing business; they’ve gone with me to two hospitals so far to help out. We’re helping each other! We’re all in it together….Monster Energy Drink, Cisco Beer, we’re just helping together,” Lam exclaims. He says they aren’t trying to profit during this time; they’re just trying to keep their workers busy and cover costs. “Anyone is more than welcome to join me on any deliveries!” Lam says. Follow along on his Instagram to see the work Lam is doing.
3 | Box Lunches for Good coronavirus
Tavern House, Orange County
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“We didn’t start doing to-go business right away. Nobody knew how long this was going to go on, but once things started to linger, we opened up for to-go orders,” explains David Wilhelm of Tavern House. “We were contacted by a managing partner at Costco who wanted to buy 150 box lunches from us once a week; that gave us an opportunity to bring staff in. Then we thought, what else can we do?” says Wilhelm. After reading stories from the community and different celebrities, Tavern House reached out to Hoag Hospital to find out they were interested in the donations. After partnering with Sysco for food materials, customers started also donating to the cause. “We’re delivering 400 lunches in the next five to seven days. It just snowballed. We are donating to the women’s shelter, St. Jude Hospital, Mission Hospital and fire departments now,” Wilhelm says.
Tavern House is also open for takeout and delivery Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
4 | Serving Those Who Serve covid-19 charities
SOCIAL, Orange County
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“Serving Those Who Serve initiative was something we wanted to do during this uncertain time. We were getting all the statistics about restaurant workers being unemployed. We decided to take a positive step to feed these workers and open for take out,” Andrew Dorsey, owner of SOCIAL, explains. He put together a goodie bag of water, toilet paper, a SOCIAL Drive-Thru Burger and fries to hand out to unemployed restaurant workers. “A bunch of different local businesses like BossCat Kitchen, Golden Road Brewery and Miss Mini Donuts showed up for the community and gave away products as well. All these people in the community started helping out and creating this snowball effect during these dark times when people are struggling,” Dorsey says.
Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening the community comes together to help those in need at SOCIAL Costa Mesa. “People are very appreciative and it’s people who truly need it––those who haven’t received unemployment or aid yet. People show up and have a very heartfelt, positive, gracious mentality that’s awesome to see and to feel,” says Dorsey. With the help of the community, Dorsey has fed over 800 people in just eight days––the more donations they receive, the longer they will be able to serve the community.
5 | Meals to Local Heroes
Hyde Park Jewelers fed hospital workers at UC Irvine with delicious meals from Wahoo’s. They’ve also provided meals to hospitals in Denver and Phoenix!
Taylor is a graduate from the University of Southern California with a degree in journalism. She is our Los Angeles and Orange County editor. You can find her dining at a new restaurant, in the ocean or planning her next adventure. Say hello!
