The call for chefs “from all over the country” to donate sales made during Donald Trump’s inauguration to groups that “fight hate” is picking up serious steam in the nation’s capital. At least 15 D.C.-area eateries running the gamut from 24/7 Diner to FLOTUS fave Chez Billy Sud have pledged some of their profits from January 20 to 22 to NGOs with agendas that are effectively the opposite of the incoming president’s. All In Service, the effort’s organizer, offers restaurants a handful of different aid groups to choose from, among them Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign, and a local advocate for immigrant rights. The organizers tell BuzzFeed these 15 spots are “just the beginning,” and add they’re talking to another dozen or so restaurants, with the end goal of seeing “the entire D.C. service industry participate.
The website doesn’t specifically advertise being against Trump anywhere; it opts, perhaps wisely, to simply bill the campaign as a “vital opportunity to serve our nation’s capital by creating inclusive spaces.” Either way, it’s even more bad news for supporters hoping for a fun and festive inauguration, which has by now become a drab-sounding affair best described as something in between “sad!” and “outright debacle.” The Trump campaign hasn’t commented on this development yet, though if it does, it’ll likely be to declare big whoop, all these restaurants are going bankrupt anyway.
