Nighttown at 12387 Cedar Road will donate $5 for every Hungry First Monday meal to the Cleveland Foodbank. Photo courtesy of Nighttown.
View Image Gallery

Beginning on Monday, April 6, Nighttown will donate $5 from every meal served at the restaurant on the first Monday of each month to Harvest for Hunger and the Cleveland Foodbank. This “Hungry First Monday” promotion will continue throughout the year on the first Monday of every month.

“We are going through extraordinary times and those who have should help out those who have not. Even in this down economy, Nighttown is doing well. Giving up a little of our profit just seems like the right thing to do,” said Brendan Ring, owner of Nighttown, who estimated that the nine-month “Hungry First Monday” promotion could net as much as $15,000 “if people come out in droves,” for the Cleveland Foodbank.

“I recently read an article in the New York Times that said ‘working-class people who suddenly lose jobs or homes often find themselves at sea, unsure how to navigate the system or ashamed to seek help. It is those people who, over the last several months, (have) started arriving in growing numbers at food pantries, which are often the first tentative step for those whose incomes are too high to qualify for government assistance.’ We must all step up to the plate,” said Ring, who became an American citizen last summer. “Besides, everyone’s heard of Fat Tuesday. Now, we’ll have Hungry First Monday once a month.”

Nighttown’s business neighbors are also chipping in. The Cedar Fairmount Merchants Association will join Nighttown in donating to the Cleveland Food Bank from April 1 through December 31. As of press time, the following businesses will donate $1 for every sale over $10 on the first Monday or first Tuesday of each month (some are closed on Mondays): Appletree Books, Abstract Hair Design, C.L. Barber Salon, and Hang It Up Archival Framing. Other shops are expected to soon join in.

Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District President Sal Russo said,"These are hard times for everyone. Our association, merchants, and professionals will do what we can to support the needy of the Greater Cleveland area."

“As the need for food continues to increase in our area, a promotion like this is a wonderful, grassroots effort to get the community involved. Hunger is a serious and urgent problem in our community,” said Anne Goodman, executive director, Cleveland Foodbank. “Thankfully, kindness and compassion are hallmarks of Greater Clevelanders.” The foodbank’s distribution for the first four months of our fiscal year was up 23 percent.

All Hungry First Monday donations go to Harvest for Hunger, an annual, 21-county food and funds drive that takes place each March and is organized by the Cleveland Foodbank. Dollars donated through Harvest for Hunger make food available to local hunger centers for free. A $1 donation provides enough food for three nutritious meals to local hunger centers to distribute to local families. The foodbank provides food and critical nonfood products to local nonprofit agencies which serve hungry individuals across northeast Ohio, 31 percent of them children. In 2008, it distributed 21.7 million pounds of food to 451 local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other agencies such as child-care centers and homes for the elderly. For more information, visit www.clevelandfoodbank.org.

Founded in 1965, Nighttown is a white tablecloth restaurant located at the top of Cedar Hill in Cleveland Heights’ fashionable Cedar-Fairmount Shopping District. Nighttown is on Down Beat’s list of the 100 Best Jazz Clubs in the World. For more information, visit www.nighttowncleveland.com.

Bruce Hennes is in charge of public relations for Nighttown.