Letter To The Editor: In Defense Of Local Restaurateurs

SOMERVILLE, MA — The following letter to the editor was submitted by Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.

To the Editor:

This past Tuesday night, I attended Taste of The Nation, a charitable event to support No Kid Hungry, a cause to eradicate childhood hunger. The restaurant/chef community embraced this organization and showed up in mass. There were delicacies from Tony Maws, Karen Akunowicz, Joanne Chang, Andy Husbands, Steve DiFillippo, Tiffani Faison, Josh Ziskin, Colin Lynch, Nick Calias, and many more – a total 60 to tantalize the taste buds.

Along with the food, there was much laughter and catching up among the chefs because they rarely see one another. These talented people work while we sleep. They work on nights, weekends, and holidays when we relax. They are there for us in times when we celebrate or need to heal. They are pillars of the community, lending support to local causes – youth sports, school fundraisers, and town events.

They hire our neighbors, our children, and sometimes those down in their luck and needing a break. They provide first work-life skills training for a teenager, and sometimes a flexible job to earn extra money around an individual's personal schedule needs. They offer a career ladder, where an employee starts as a dishwasher or server, but progresses to management and chef positions, and even ownership.

All too often, they are then criticized by those, not in the industry, or by the media, as bad employers, unwilling to pay “fair” wages. They get lampooned for not posting schedules three weeks in advance. The truth is - their employees are their family – they treat them with dignity and respect, encourage them to grow, and allow them to earn a good living.

The next time somebody knocks our local restaurant industry, please remember this: On Tuesday evening, they worked together to provide a night to remember serving the community, and more importantly, to help positively change the world. Their philanthropic actions are genuine, heroic and appreciated.

Bob Luz

President & CEO

Massachusetts Restaurant Association