Note: The following is the eleventh post in a series of posts from GET//OUT regarding BLgT USA - the first 50-state food tour for equality. We'll be sharing updates, photos and more as the BLgT team travels across the country to get people out locally for LGBT equality.
BLgT USA Local Food Heroes: Part II. The following is the second half of yesterday’s post.
September 3, 2015 // Las Vegas, NV - Lucky Foo’s BLgTs for Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, the go-to spot for LGBT education and resources in the Vegas area. Sushi Chef Kenny graced us with the only BLgT sushi roll of the summer. "I'm the oldest of 11 kids. My sister and her wife live in Napa. I have a gay brother, too. He's a lawyer and the former LA County Sheriff...he's headed to DC because he wants do more movement work. My kids grew up with a gay aunt and uncle. And everything is cool.” - Chef Kenny, Lucky Foo’s
September 5, 2015 // Los Angeles, CA - The Pikey BLgTs for My Friend’s Place, serving homeless youth in the greater LA area. Michelin Starred Chef Ralph Johnson joined The Pikey in 2012, which is part of the ever growing Committed Inc. Restaurant Group. Very cool British pub vibe. It’s been a bar for 80+ years, which for LA makes it a local grandma. “It’s one thing to get asked by a giant organization to donate something. It’s another to do something local. Anything that’s good for community and neighborhood. Anything that brings us together. We’re in. I go straight to a person that I looked up to as a child, who passed away when I was 12. It was the AIDS epidemic. As a little kid you don’t really understand. I remember the conversation with my mom. ‘Was he gay?’ My mom said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ She said, “It wasn’t important.” And it’s true. It’s not. Everybody’s a person, that’s what mattered the most. I looked up to him because he was a good guy, not because of anything else. He was my mom’s best friend. He was part of the family. He was the guy who took me to baseball games. He got me to collect baseball cards, coins, weird shit. His name was Bart. Bart Wise. Too bad he’s not here, but he’s looking out. For sure.” -Eric Shani, Manager, The Pikey
September 8, 2015 // Phoenix, AZ - Southern Rail BLgTs for One*N*Ten, supporting Arizona’s LGBTQ youth. Owned by four friends, Justin & Michelle Beckett and Scott & Katie Stephens, who also own Beckett’s Table. Chef Justin Beckett runs the house. Amazing crew that felt like family. “It takes the neighborhood. It takes the people around us to make us successful. Feeding them and having them fall in love with what you’re doing... Growing up in Arizona, in a very conservative state, my sister came out to me at a young age. She took me out on a canoe, so I wouldn’t run away. I said, ‘You’re still my sister. I’m still going to love you.’ She lost a lot of jobs. Lost a lot of friends. Lived in fear. It was a tough time to be growing up in Arizona. When this opportunity came around to support such a great cause locally, it was very personal for me to say yes. If there were only opportunities like One*N*Ten when we were growing up, my sister’s life would’ve changed drastically. It’s a great shift we’re seeing today.” -Katie Stephens, Co-Owner, Southern Rail
September 12, 2015 // Austin, TX - Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile for Out Youth Austin, supporting programs for Texas LGBT youth and education services. Owner Adam Jacoby’s family has grown Jacoby Feed and Seed in Melvin, TX to a multi-faceted, vertically integrated family business that includes a farm and ranching operation, cafe, and rail center. “The hottest new restaurant in Austin” is ranch-to-table. Yep, the brisket on Jacoby’s BLgT is from the family farm. We may have gone back for brunch the next day. It was that good. “I’m a small town kid. Very southern Catholic family. It was a struggle, but in the end I’m really proud at how my family stood behind me. They’ve set a really good example for rural, west Texas families. We hope we’ve paved the road for many youth from conservative families to come out. Also, people are so into this campaign. And I think they like the brisket…” -Adam Jacoby
September 17, 2015 // Oxford, MS // Big Bad Breakfast and Lamar Lounge for Gulf Coast Rainbow Center. James Beard award winning chef and restaurateur John Currence runs the town with City Grocery Restaurant Group. He was the brains behind the brilliant Big Gay Mississippi last year in NYC. We reached out to John via Twitter and he responded within minutes. Niiiice. Our 30 minute meeting turned into a marathon night of new friendships and shrimp & grits foodgasms with John’s ninja sidekick, Olivia Lyberg, as well. “I’ve always been a protector, even when I was little growing up in New Orleans. There were these two kids who were bullied when we were in kindergarten. I stood up for them and we all became friends. They turned out to be gay. That’s how it’s been throughout my whole life. Last year, I was invited to New York to do an event for the Governor. While we were there, I decided that we were going to honor the gay men and women from Mississippi who have made our industry what it is, and all of the arts in Mississippi, too. We hosted a separate lunch and called it Big Gay Mississippi. It’s about treating people like people, and doing the right thing.” -John Currence
Over the next couple weeks, we’ll continue to post team reflections. For delicious photos of our 50+ summer events check out our Facebook Page. For more sandwich stories from the road get after our Instagram. To sign-up for future GET//OUT updates, here ya go. For questions, feedback, and media love: go@getout.io