Good deeds

Fort Worth restaurants pitch in to help during coronavirus crisis

Chef Kevin Martinez will participate in Kids Who Care's telethon on March 29.

Photo by Brian Hutson

Fort Worth's food and beverage industry is not only supremely hospitable, it's also consistently generous, always ready to rally 'round with charitable acts of kindness. That's even true during these cataclysmic times of the coronavirus, when thousands of people have suddenly lost their jobs.

Here are some initiatives and charitable acts that have surfaced in the Fort Worth-area restaurant world. The list will continue to be updated as more restaurants launch new programs and services.

The Fort Worth Food & Wine Festival has been postponed until the fall. But its charitable foundation has launched the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund to support the culinary community. "We are temporarily shifting our focus to include a relief fund to provide $100,000 in emergency assistance to employees of restaurants and/or bars (with food service) impacted by recent public health issues that limit available work in our community," they say on their website. Restaurant owners and managers may apply for funds to help employees (up to $500 each) who are experiencing extreme hardship as a result of the crisis, they say. Donate here.

Nonprofit theater group Kids Who Care's 22nd Cookin' for Kids fundraising event, originally scheduled for Sunday, March 29, was canceled. But they'll transform it into a virtual "telethon" event live-streamed on Facebook at 5 pm Sunday. While there will not be the usual chef competition, three of the chefs slated to compete this year (Jon Bonnell, Kevin Martinez, and Denise Shavandy) will, instead, be creating and sharing recipes that viewers can make easily at home. Half the telethon proceeds will be donated to the new Restaurant Employee Relief Fund from the Fort Worth Food & Wine Foundation. Find out more and register here.

Visit Fort Worth has a page featuring restaurants that offer curbside/to-go or home delivery throughout the city. It is being updated regularly, and there's a mobile-friendly version, too.

Chill Bar & Grill in Grapevine is handing out a selection of 300 free pizzas, sandwiches, and wraps beginning at noon on Thursday, March 26. Food will be offered via “drive-through” in the parking lot of the restaurant, located at 814 S. Main St. There is a limit of two per vehicle.

The Lunch Box has ceased all operations and closed to the public for the time being. However, each weekday they are handing out 200+ free lunches to anyone in need, including first responders, healthcare workers, laid-off service industry, or anyone who could use a free meal. Each lunch comes with a sandwich, chips, fruit, and cookie. They're at 6333 Camp Bowie Blvd.; find out more on their Facebook page.

38 & Vine, the new wine bar and tasting room in The Foundry District, is donating 20 percent of sales to A Wish With Wings, though March 29. A Wish With Wings grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Bottles of wine are available for direct delivery and curbside pick up, Monday thru Sunday. To find out more about how to purchase, order times, and more, visit their website or call 682-703-1887.

Melt Ice Creams has started an initiative called Happiness for Heroes, in which scoops can be purchased online and delivered to medical emergency workers throughout DFW. Notes of encouragement can be attached, too. For more information, visit the website.

Twilite Lounge is asking for virtual donations to help staff members who are now without income. They offer details on how to contribute to their virtual tip jar on their Facebook page.

United Way has a COVID-19 Community Economic Relief Fund. They will help with bills, rent, and food. Call 866-211-9966 and provide zip code, and you'll get a list of local agencies to provide service.

Twisted Root Burger Co. is offering a free meal every day to its employees and their dependents.

Three Fort Worth distilleries — TX Whiskey, Acre, and Blackland — are now making hand sanitizer. Some will be donated to healthcare workers, and bottles will also be made available to the public. More information in this story.

A Dallas-Fort Worth startup has launched the Get Shift Done for North Texas Initiative to place hourly workers in the hospitality industry in jobs working for nonprofit organizations and institutions in need during the COVID-19 crisis. More information here.

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Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.

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Here comes Santa Claus

Grapevine 'Santa House' takes St. Nick decor over the rooftop for charity

Photo courtesy of Louie Murillo

The Murillo family home has become the Grapevine Santa House.

If the Murillo family doesn't capture the top spot on Santa's nice list this year, there's no hope for the rest of us. They have filled their front yard in Grapevine with more than 1,000 lighted Santa decorations as a beacon of awareness for a local nonprofit.

They're calling it, simply, Grapevine Santa House.

The half-acre property is a "Where's Waldo?" maze of Santa statues, which visitors can walk among, snap photos with, and then, they hope, make a donation to Grace Grapevine's Christmas Cottage program. The charity's seasonal initiative provides new, unwrapped gifts to Tarrant County families facing financial hardship.

"I've always been a holiday guy, way over the top," says Louie Murillo, the dad and Santa House head honcho. Anyone who's seen the 20-foot Christmas trees perched atop the the two Chick-fil-A restaurants he owns near Dallas Love Field can attest.

"About a year ago, I bought some Santas on clearance and thought maybe we'd do something with them for a family Christmas card," he says.

Along came COVID-19, and his holiday passion intersected with a desire to help those who were struggling. During his quarantine free-time, he bought a few more Santas online. Then a few more. Then his idea for a Santa House really began to take shape.

"Once we dipped our toe in, we decided to go all out," he says of his family, including kids ages 12 and 14.

His search for Santas took him around Texas and beyond. Murillo even flew to Chicago and drove back a truck loaded with nine reindeer and a sleigh.

By July, one of the home's three attics was stuffed with Santas. Then a game room overflowed with them. By fall, a storage unit was filling up.

To be clear, these aren't just any Santa statues. They're "blow molds," a specific kind of hollow, plastic figure popular in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. They're rarely made now, and considered collectibles, costing anywhere from $30 to $140 apiece.

"How much I've spent is not a number we're gonna discuss nor share with my wife," Murillo says with a laugh. "It definitely got out of hand."

Then there was the matter of lighting it all up. An electrician helped wire the yard with an additional, 14-outlet breaker, and they're hoping a switch to LED lighting helps ease the electricity bill a little.

Some decorations are set up in vignettes, and Murillo's favorite piece isn't actually a Santa. It's a vintage church, an expensive piece he found in Chicago. The display also includes carolers and a nativity, and a sign urges people to tune to a radio station to hear the Christmas story from the Bible.

Murillo reached out to the Grace organization about a partnership at the perfect time. Their need would be higher than ever at a time at the holidays, when fewer gatherings meant fewer opportunities for donations to be collected. Typically, Christmas Cottage serves more than 2,500 individuals and families each holiday season. Families are given a hypothetical “budget” that allows the parents to “purchase” donated toys, home goods, and appliances in a secure, store-like setting.

The Murillos' goal is to raise $15,000 with Santa House, which will help 120 kids. By December 1, just a few days after turning the lights on, they were already at $9,000.

Rather than collecting contributions on site, they're encouraging guests to donate online via a GoFundMe page set up in conjunction with the Santa House.

Among the first visitors to the Santa House was a single mom whose child had been helped by Grace, Murillo says. Mom and daughter enjoyed the lights and then made a donation — they paid the kindness forward.

"It's cool to see real people being helped that are in need," Murillo says. "It's fun just to see kids' excitement. We've all been stuck indoors, not traveling, and this is something to do as a family."

The Santa House lights will go on every night from 5-10 pm through December 27. The home is on a cul-de-sac in the Western Oaks neighborhood, and visitors can park along the street.

The exact location is 3373 Spruce Lane, Grapevine. Follow the Grapevine Santa House Facebook page for updates.

The Murillo family home has become the Grapevine Santa House.

Photo courtesy of Louie Murillo

The Murillo family home has become the Grapevine Santa House.

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