The ReUp ME Restaurant Relief Fund was created to directly support restaurants who are in the midst of reopening, rehiring, and restocking. It is anticipated that rebuilding of the Maine hospitality economy is going to take several years. The next 6 months will be critical to saving and helping to sustain Maine’s passionate restaurant owners.
Mainers have always taken great pride in supporting their communities across all sixteen counties. If we mobilize quickly, this approach will create a profound and unified message of hope and inspire consumers inside and outside the state to donate.
“The Governor’s reopen plan is going to require a lot of things most restaurants do not have on hand – just to reopen, things like single use condiments, gas heaters, plexiglass, masks, gloves, cleaning and disinfecting supplies, etc, to say nothing of food and hiring people back.”
Enjoy our first Eight Episodes
Ep. 1: Maine Summer Classics
Ep. 4: The County
Ep. 7: The County
Ep. 2: Comfort Food
Ep. 5: Mountain Flavors I
Ep. 8: Takeout Tango
Ep. 3: Backyard Barbecue
Ep. 6: Mountain Flavors II
HospitalityMaine Educational Foundation, in collaboration with inspirational restaurant leaders and O’Maine Studios, has established a 4 month fundraising campaign seeking to raise $500,000 to $1 million dollars for Maine restaurants. The ReUp Maine Restaurant Relief Fund hopes to provide direct financial support for a 100 to 200 grants with up to a $5,000 maximum grant to restaurant award recipients. Grants will be randomly selected from submitted applications.
Example of possible support:
$5,000- Reopen ME Cash Grants
In-kind media promotion through the 4 Month ReUP ME Campaign
Note: Not all applicants will receive grant funds
How will we get to our goal?
The Sunday Supper cook-along show will feature Maine’s top chefs and restauranteurs preparing some of their signature dishes. Think of a community supper, but you (the audience) get to (virtually) participate and enjoy preparing supper along with Maine’s passionate chefs from their own kitchen.
The 90 minute weekly live webcast will bring Maine’s restaurant comeback story to life. Each Sunday we will
celebrate our food, our people, and our communities through:
A live audience & interactive cook-along format
Chef’s answering questions from call-in donors for ReUP ME
Celebrity guests and mentor chefs conduct tastings of Maine products
Perfect pairings – beverage & mixology recommendations from Maine experts
Promotion of the Maine ingredient list prior to, during and after each show
Producer profiles of farms, aquaculture businesses, breweries, and distilleries
