Local bars celebrate Old Fashioned Week to aid hospitality workers

From Friday (Oct. 15) through Oct. 24, local bars will be mixing up a classic cocktail for a good cause.

It will be Old Fashioned Week, Elijah Craig Distillery’s annual 10-day celebration of the bourbon cocktail to raise money for the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation, or RWCF.

Elijah Craig Distillery launched Old Fashioned Week in 2020 to provide relief to its beloved hospitality industry. It partnered with RWCF to raise $100,000 for the advocacy and action nonprofit that gives back to restaurant workers.

The company is asking anyone enjoying an Old Fashioned next week, at home or in a local bar, to share their experience with @ElijahCraig on Instagram and tag the photos and videos using the hashtag #OldFashionedWeek. For every image that’s shared, Elijah Craig will donate $5 to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, up to $100,000.

Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation was created by and for restaurant workers in 2018 to advocate for gender equity, racial justice, fair wages and a healthy work environments in the restaurant industry. During the Covid-19 pandemic, RWCF’s full focus has been on supporting workers, small business owners and an industry in crisis through its Restaurant Workers Covid-19 Crisis Relief Fund.

RWCF has partnered with the Southern Smoke Foundation to distribute funds to restaurant industry workers who are in immediate financial crisis. The remaining funds will support organizations working to provide crisis relief in areas such as mental health support, child care and food pantries. Crisis fund dollars will also go toward a no-interest, no-collateral loan program to help get small businesses back up and running after this public health crisis has passed.

In 2021, RWCF established the Restaurant Workers’ Racial Justice Fund to address the specific injustices faced by Black, Indigenous and other workers of color in the restaurant industry.

These New Orleans bars and restaurants are participating in Old Fashioned Week and will be serving up the classic cocktail:

Barrel Proof
1201 Magazine St.

The Bulldog
3236 Magazine St.

Chais Delachaise
7708 Maple St.

Charlie’s Steak House
4510 Dryades St.

The Chloe
4125 St. Charles Ave.

The Columns
3811 St. Charles Ave.

Cure
4905 Freret St.

The Delachaise
3442 St. Charles Ave.

Juan’s Flying Burrito
2018 Magazine St.
5538 Magazine St.

Pascal’s Manale
1838 Napoleon Ave.

Pizza Domenica
4933 Magazine St.

SideCar Oyster and Patio Bar
1114 Constance St.