O’Charley’s has announced that it has wrapped up the first round of the Hometown Heroes program and will now be expanding the scope of it. The program began by offering free meals to local healthcare workers and first responders. The brand also has a special 25 percent discount for those two groups that it is still offering.
“When the coronavirus began to have a serious impact across the country, we immediately decided that we needed to go above and beyond our normal community engagement to acknowledge those serving our communities,” Craig Barber, O’Charley’s CEO. “That was the genesis of Hometown Heroes. We wanted to say thank you to the people who were – and still are – fighting so hard and sacrificing to keep us all safe during this unprecedented time.”
The program started in the first week of April in the city of Nashville, where O’Charley’s is headquartered. Since then, however, it has branched out to many other communities, like Birmingham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Knoxville, Louisville, and St. Louis.
“Hometown Heroes has been a great success to date by working closely with the communities we are blessed to serve every day,” Barber continued. “As we evolve Hometown Heroes over the summer, we will continue to rely on the many great relationships we have developed to maximize the benefit. This initiative was created to provide recognition and a small moment of relief for the people in our communities who continue to serve in spite of the personal risks from the virus. That mission will remain in place as we elevate Hometown Heroes into its next phase.”
The brand has said that while the summer begins, it will continue the program as well as address other community needs with a new partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank to feed hungry children and families during the summer.
O’Charley’s is also working to keep its customers and staff safe when they do visit their restaurant.
“As we work carefully to re-open dining rooms across the country, we are adapting to the myriad of new
federal, state and local regulations to ensure we are compliant and, most importantly, that everyone in our restaurants feel safe,” W. Craig Barber, Chief Executive Officer, said in a company statement. “I am confident our teams will maintain the same discipline and intensity from the changes in March for these important elements. Our commitment is to do all we can to ensure the health and safety of our team members and guests.”