Giving Kitchen Helps Michael Lo Retain Staff

After we opened our first restaurant in 2014, we invited restaurant owners and chefs to a ramen party with donated noodles. We sold a few hundred tickets and knew we had to give back to the community, so Giving Kitchen just felt like the perfect choice. It launched something awesome that turned into our annual Atlanta Ramen Fest, and I’m proud of what we’ve raised through this event over the years for GK.

It’s not a secret that the restaurant industry isn’t the most profitable - margins are thin and the work is long and hard, but those of us who are in it love it for many unique reasons. One of those reasons is the jobs and opportunities I get to create for my staff to grow. 

Giving Kitchen’s work helps us enable our staff to live better lives. Over the years, we’ve personally helped several of our staff apply for financial assistance and assistance when they were dealing with emergencies. GK’s staff does it with so much compassion and care. They’ve also created a great platform for resource sharing and pushed the ball further on discussions about key issues in our industry, including personal wellbeing. 

I’m encouraged that so much of GK’s revenue goes directly toward programs and that those programs benefit someone you know and interact with every day. As a restauranteur, having GK assist a staff member short term helps me retain them as an employee for the long term. As a diner, your contributions stay local and support the food service industry you all love. It’s helping to build that bridge so your favorite bartender, server or cook can focus on returning to work and not get derailed by an emergency hardship. It’s the best kind of tip you can leave.