Chef Mimmo Alboumeh of Red Pepper Taqueria is using his closed restaurant kitchen in Town Brookhaven to keep staff working and help feed the homeless, a spokesperson Tuesday told What Now Atlanta in an email.
Red Pepper closed as part of a mandate by the City of Brookhaven for all restaurants to temporarily shutter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City of Atlanta is expected to follow suit.
“I have fresh food, staff who want to work, and Atlanta has people who are hungry, so I figured this was at least a short-term solution,” Alboumeh said in a prepared statement.
“Staff who don’t work in the kitchen can help with meal delivery.”
And since much of his kitchen staff utilizes public transportation to get to work, Alboumeh is providing private transportation to keep them isolated from crowds.
Chef Mimmo’s first delivery will be Lost ’n Found Youth, the shelter for Atlanta’s homeless LGBTQ youth, and then he will hit the streets.
“Atlantan Daniel Troppy has been helping our homeless for more than a year now with care packages of food, clothing, supplies, and conversation,” according to the statement.
“He and Chef Mimmo will team up to help feed as many people as possible (up to 100-150), as homeless shelters across the country are faced with the huge challenge of increasing capacity, yet reducing the risk of spreading the virus.”
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