How SOBEWFF® founder Lee Schrager brought the community together to help save SoFla restaurants

One hot and unseasonably humid Sunday morning in late April, a long procession of cars lined up by a particular house on Hardee Road. The eager drivers had two reasons for leaving their warm beds early that day and heading to Coral Gables: nabbing a box of famously gooey Night Owl Cookies before they ran out (and they did, by noon), and the chance to greet the man behind what is arguably the most anticipated bake sale in Miami’s history.

Lee Brian Schrager is no stranger to bringing people together. Through his work as founder of the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival® (and its New York counterpart), Schrager has made it his life’s work to inform the masses about the who’s who and what’s what of the national food scene in a way that is both educational and indulgent. However, that first Putting on the Pounds Bake Sale he organized at his home last spring was new territory for him: the purpose was not simply to bring joy, but to help save a devastated restaurant industry quickly affected by a pandemic that no one saw coming.

“On the 21st of March, I had a phone call with a group of about 24 South Florida chefs — just to find out how I could help and what was most pressing to address at that point in time,” Schrager says, “across the board, it was the employees that mattered to these chefs. How were they going to feed their families and how they were going to live… I knew we needed to do something, so we jumped into action”. Those moves led to what became the SOBEWFF® & FIU Chaplin School Hospitality Industry Relief Fund. “Right away, we called up local business leaders and brands and came up with the initial money,” he says. In a matter of four days, approximately $1 million dollars was raised; once the fund went public, that sum rose about another $800,000.

PAYING IT FORWARD

Community leaders soon came calling. The month of August brought a partnership with Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez and Miami-Dade County on a $5 million grant program designed to provide immediate financial relief for employees of independently owned and operated restaurants, hotel restaurants, bars, and caterers whose businesses have been significantly diminished by COVID-19 closure orders in Miami-Dade.

While Schrager continued his support of the industry through summer by committing to his fundraising duties, one thing he shied away from was dining in. “In the 5 and half months that we were on lock down, I went out to eat three times,” he says, “I cooked more this summer than I have in 25 years.” But he says that while complete closures have since lifted, public support for the local food industry is as crucial as ever. “Get take out. Buy gift cards. If you feel comfortable — and only if you feel comfortable — dine at a restaurant. And don’t forget to follow restaurants on social media.”

THE FESTIVALS LIVE ON

By fall, Schrager’s focus veered to the projects that have helped make him a top figure in the business — the food festivals. While the New York City event will proceed with a virtual program that Schrager describes as “extraordinary,” the best news was reserved for Miami. “We are definitely moving forward optimistically,” he says, “it’s going to look different. Rather than having 4,000 people in a tent, we’re going to cut it in half and schedule early and late sessions. The lines will be significantly shorter and there will seating areas. We are going to do everything we need to and more to ensure a safe experience.”

As for the restaurant industry he has spent the year trying to keep afloat, Schrager says the future of it is bright because the residents of South Florida want it that way. “We learned lots of things in the last six months,” Schrager says, “how different we are, but also how life-changing it is when people come together and help each other. That to me, is as important as anything.”