On Wednesday, Oct. 17, Hurricane Michael Relief Day is set to take over a trio of Tampa Bay locations for Sonny's BBQ.
Diners are encouraged to patronize the Florida-based barbecue chain's participating outposts in Tampa, Sun City Center and Wesley Chapel on from open to close, because they've committed to giving 10 percent of their sales to Operation BBQ Relief. Each donation will support those impacted by the devastating storm in the Panhandle and beyond.
Operation BBQ Relief provides meals to displaced residents and emergency personnel during times of disaster. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, the nonprofit and Sonny's have joined forces with local government agencies and the Salvation Army to help serve up some relief.
This past weekend, the owners of Tampa's Refinery, Greg and Michelle Baker, left town for Panama City to also join the efforts of Operation BBQ Relief. They packed "the Wrangler" full of donated supplies like pet food and bottled water from their friends, family and customers, according to a live video the restaurant posted to its Facebook page.
"We're joining an organization called Operation BBQ Relief, and it's essentially, as it says, it's a relief effort to support first responders and people who have lost everything in the wake of Hurricane Michael… we're crossin' fingers. We've had a lot of communication with people who are there," Michelle said in the Oct. 13 video. "Roads are down. It's total destruction from what we understand."
Editor's note: This story has been updated since its original publication.
This article appears in Oct 11-18, 2018.