LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Restaurant Association (MRA) today joined breathing-impaired children and hundreds of needy Michigan families to praise two Michigan restaurants that went above and beyond the call of duty.
Zukey Lake Tavern of Pinckney, Mich., and Unique Restaurant Corporation (URC), of Bingham Farms, Mich., are the winners of the MRA's 2002 Michigan Restaurant Neighbor Award.
Both restaurants will receive award plaques plus $500 each from the MRA to donate to their favorite charities. The restaurants are also eligible to enter the National Restaurant Association's contest for a $5,000 award.
This year, Zukey Lake Tavern hosted its 12th annual charity golf outing to support The Trail's Edge Summer Camp for ventilator-dependent children. To date, the tavern has raised more than $250,000 for the camp that is operated by volunteers from the tavern and the University of Michigan Hospitals.
"We are thrilled to be presented with the Restaurant Neighbor Award," said Rick Glazer, co-owner of Zukey Lake Tavern. "The tavern employees and health care professionals who volunteer have given these kids the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon, go boating, and even climb trees where they normally wouldn't have the proper equipment or supervision."
Owners Glazer and Chuck Plante got involved with the camp after Bob Wren, a friend of the tavern and an avid golfer, inspired them to begin the annual golf outing fundraiser. Now their fundraising includes a Christmas candy cane drive that raises money for the camp and provides candy canes for patients of children's hospitals who are too ill to be home for the holidays.
"All you have to do is meet these kids and see the proud expressions on their faces - that is our biggest reward," Glazer said.
Unique Restaurant Corporation (URC), based in Bingham Farms, Mich., owns and operates a variety of restaurants located in southeastern Michigan including Duet in Detroit, Morels Bistro in Bingham Farms, Northern Lakes Seafood Company in Bloomfield Hills, and No. VI Chop House in Novi. URC has raised more than $500,000 in the past three years to fight hunger through its Share Our Strength (SOS) program. URC has also saved and routed nearly two million pounds of produce to the hungry in Michigan and abroad through its Variety Produce Rescue Program.
"My staff will be thrilled to know that they have been recognized for their efforts," said Matt Prentice, president of URC. "Even better - they know the $500 award to the Variety Produce Rescue Mission will turn into more than 8,000 pounds of produce for the charities it serves."
URC has headed the SOS Taste of Our Nation Dinner program in Detroit since 2000. One hundred to 300 staff members volunteer for their annual dinners. In addition, the wait-staff trainers volunteer at the St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center, which serves more than 1,000 children and families in crisis annually. The URC has even partnered with NBC's Detroit affiliate, WDIV-TV 4, to provide special programming, news stories, public service announcements and sales-sponsored vignettes alerting their audience to the need for hunger relief. URC staff participates weekly with several charities and URC employees and executives have donated thousands of hours per year to SOS and other events.
"Hunger puts the physical and mental development of children at risk. We work so intimately with the hunger fight that we get to see first-hand the fruits of our efforts in the children we help," Prentice said.
"Roughly nine out of 10 restaurant operators actively participate in community affairs," said Rob Gifford, MRA's executive director. "Thousands of restaurants in Michigan are assets to their local communities because they actively participate with charities every day. Restaurants are great for the local economy - but more important are their priceless contributions to their communities," Gifford said.
Founded in 1921, the Michigan Restaurant Association represents nearly 4,000 Michigan foodservice establishments. The foodservice industry plays an integral role in Michigan?s economy, employing more than 300,000 people and creating $10.6 billion in annual sales. | 
