Birmingham’s Rojo has won the 2018 Restaurant Neighbor Award for the state of Alabama
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According to a news release from Rojo, the popular restaurant in the Highland Park area of Birmingham, has won the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s 2018 Restaurant Neighbor Award for the state of Alabama.
Rojo was nominated in November 2017 for this prestigious national award which honors restaurants that go above and beyond in the area of community service.
Check out the December 2016 article in Bham Now about Rojo’s local philanthropy.
Generosity: Rojo community fundraising tops $26,000 in 2016
The restuarant will now compete with other state winners across the country for the national award. Three national winners will receive a $10,000 award to help support its favorite charity or community project. In addition to the award, the national winners will be flown to Washington, DC to receive the award at an awards dinner in April 2018.
Rojo’s owners Clark Lopez and Laney DeJonge founded the restaurant in 2002.
Lopez stated, “We are honored to receive this award and hope to continue to support these worthy causes in our city and state for many years to come.”
All state winners will receive a commemorative plaque to display in their restaurant and will be profiled on the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s website highlighting their community activities.
Rojo is locally known for giving to numerous non-profits with their 10% Tuesdays, where they donate a percentage of their evening sales. The restaurant also provides food for charity events throughout the city and allow community groups to use its side room for meetings. Rojo also sponsors many organizations, such as Sidewalk Film Festival and Alabama Environmental Council.
DeJonge said, “We would love to go to DC for the National Award and bring the $10,000 back to our community. Birmingham has so many great non-profits that are trying to make our city better. We recognize how hard it is for these groups to raise money and are glad we can help them by people eating at our restaurant.”
