Back in April, when Blue Orleans co-owner Cherita Bloodwirth heard through a friend about grant money available to restaurants, she did what many people would have done. She filled out the application.
And then she told other local restaurateurs about it.
“This pandemic is a bigger story than our restaurant, but for us to continue, we had to look for ways to survive and at least try. That’s one thing I tell people when they ask what we’ve done. You have to try.”
While she applied for and was denied a few other grant applications, her efforts have paid off. From that April application, the restaurant received $14,000, out of a possible $20,000, awarded to 71 Black-owned food businesses across the country through a partnership of the Kraft Heinz Co., Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice and the LEE Initiative.
LEE, which stands for Let’s Empower Employment, is a nonprofit organization created by restaurateurs Lindsey Ofcacek and Edward Lee in 2017 as part of the #MeToo movement. Its focus is on improving diversity and equality in the restaurant industry through programs meant to increase opportunities for employment and make the industry more sustainable.