Restaurants to raise funds for tsunami relief

Ten percent of dinner sales to benefit Save the Children charity on Wednesday.

By: Rachel Silverman
   By dining at any one of 18 Princeton-area restaurants Wednesday night, you can help support ongoing tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia.
   A host of Princeton-area restaurants, including Alchemist & Barrister, Blue Point Grill, The Ferry House, Ivy Garden, La Mezzaluna, La Terraza, Lahiere’s Restaurant, Main Street Bistro & Bar, Mediterra, Teresa Café Italiano, The Annex, Tiger Noodles, Triumph Brewing Company and Yankee Doodle Tap Room, will participate in the fund-raiser.
   Ya Ya Noodles in Montgomery and Acacia, Chambers Walk and the Lawrenceville Inn in Lawrence are also participating as are restaurants in Hopewell, Bernardsville and New Brunswick, a total of 24.
   All have pledged to give 10 percent of their dinner sales to Save the Children’s Asia Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Fund, and are encouraging their wait staff to donate 10 percent of their tips to the cause.
   This "Central Jersey Restaurants Tsunami Relief Fundraiser" is the brainchild of Blue Point Grill manager Steve Murray, who said he felt compelled to help out after the natural disaster ruined the lives of so many.
   "It was absolutely horrible," Mr. Murray said, citing his two children as the major reason for his interest in aiding young disaster victims. "You watch it on TV," he trailed off quietly.
   Mr. Murray found others equally appalled by the tragedy, and equally willing to donate their time and effort.
   "Everybody wanted to do something. Everyone was willing to jump on," Mr. Murray said.
   "Even servers not working that night have been super-willing to come in and help out," Mr. Murray continued. "It’s just the right cause at the right time."
   Bobby Trig, chef and owner of The Ferry House, said he was also impressed with the restaurant community’s call to arms.
   "It’s the first event I’ve seen in my 14 years of owning the Ferry House where it’s more of a community effort," Mr. Trig said. "It’s not just an individual restaurant or an individual person here, it’s a total community."
   Mr. Murray attributed this enthusiastic response to the nature of the local restaurant community.
   "The restaurant business is very tight — you know everybody," he said. After placing a few phone calls, Mr. Murray had a growing list of owners and managers on board. "We could’ve had a hundred restaurants here," Mr. Murray said.
   Mr. Murray is hopeful the event will draw a big turnout, and allow him to send a large check over for tsunami victims.
   "I would hope $10,000 to $15,000 would be the bottom," he said.
   Mr. Murray also called for more such charitable activity across Princeton’s dining establishments.
   "There’s no reason why we can’t do this once a year for some cause," he said.