FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Goodwill® to Open Community Table Bistro on New Campus
Proceeds from nonprofit eatery at Goodwill Opportunity Campus fund free job training programs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (June 15, 2016) – Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont announced today the opening of Community Table Bistro, a nonprofit restaurant in the Leon Levine Opportunity Center at the new Goodwill Opportunity Campus, located at 5301 Wilkinson Boulevard in west Charlotte. The new dining locale is a first-time venture for the nonprofit known for its job training, retail stores and donation centers. Community Table Bistro officially opens to the public on Thursday, June 23. Hours of operation are Monday – Friday from 6:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. serving breakfast and lunch.
Community Table Bistro is a culinary training division of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. The restaurant offers healthy and homemade affordable food and beverage options ranging from $.99 – $7.99. Signature items at Community Table Bistro include homemade biscuits and jams, breakfast salad with coffee vinaigrette and candied bacon, grilled banana French toast panini, chicken pot pie, pulled pork BBQ, vanilla butternut cold oven pound cake, and coconut cake with seven-minute frosting. Various ingredients – including vegetables, fruit and herbs – will be grown at an on-site urban garden in the courtyard of the Goodwill Opportunity Campus.
Proceeds from purchases at Community Table Bistro help fund job training programs at Goodwill for individuals on their journey to achieving family sustaining employment. Clients will earn hands-on job training at Community Table Bistro in order to learn and develop skills to secure employment in the in-demand industry of hospitality and tourism, including restaurants and hotels.
“Community Table Bistro truly encompasses the mission and spirit of Goodwill, which is a sense of unity and inclusion for the community and those we serve,” said Andrew King, Director of Food Services at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “We hope that those who dine with us and take a seat at one of the ‘community tables’ not only enjoy the good food, but also the fulfillment that comes with knowing you’re providing a helping hand.”
Goodwill has hired the following key staff to craft the menu, open and oversee operations at Community Table Bistro.
- Andrew King, Director of Food Services:
- A native Charlottean and longtime local chef and business owner, King has restored historic gardens through his company Eden’s Hope and also owned High Cotton Catering, was a partner in Hotel Charlotte Restaurant, was both general manager and executive chef at the historic Lodge on Lake Lure, and most recently was the general manager at the western North Carolina office of Classic Party Rentals. King’s background and skillset includes Southern cuisine, and he has served on more than a dozen boards of trustees ranging from The Mint Museum of Art, board chair of the Historic Rosedale Plantation, Mecklenburg Historic Association, The Charlotte Museum of History and The Duke Mansion.
- Patty Greene, Bistro Manager/Chef de Cuisine:
- A native Charlottean who joins Community Table Bistro at Goodwill from Bistro La Bon. Greene has also served as executive chef at Soul Gastrolounge, The Dunhill Hotel and Harvest Moon Grille, as sous chef at Carpe Diem and was owner/chef at Food Fetish Catering. Greene’s background and skillset includes knowledge in pastry, French, Asian and fusion cooking. She currently teaches classes at the YWCA in “Nutritional Cooking on a Budget.”
Opening for client services on Thursday, June 30, the Goodwill Opportunity Campus is a game-changer for job training, job placement and job creation in the region. Featuring the 160,000-square-foot Leon Levine Opportunity Center, the campus will bring together community partner agencies on-site to provide wraparound services for clients under one roof, including Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Charlotte Community Health Clinic – West, Common Wealth Charlotte and The Center for Community Transitions. By addressing client barriers in healthcare, banking, financial literacy and transitional support services for individuals with criminal backgrounds, Goodwill and its partner agencies will work together to help clients achieve stability and eventually gain a level of self-sufficiency to achieve family sustaining employment.
Proceeds from the sale of donations in Goodwill retail stores fund the nonprofit’s mission of providing job training and employment services free of charge to individuals with barriers to employment such as lack of skills, experience or education and criminal backgrounds. Each week, 230 people access Goodwill’s employment and basic needs resources. In 2015, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provided employment services to 12,000 individuals and placed 1,500 job seekers in local jobs. For more information about Goodwill and its programs, or to learn more about Community Table Bistro, visit www.goodwillsp.org and www.communitytablebistro.com.
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About Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
Goodwill has been serving individuals and families in the Southern Piedmont region of North and South Carolina for more than 50 years. Goodwill operates 24 retail stores and has more than 45 donation sites in the region. Proceeds from the sale of donated goods fund job training and employment services for individuals facing barriers to employment such as lack of skills, experience or education and criminal backgrounds. In 2015, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provided employment services to 12,000 individuals and placed 1,500 job seekers in local jobs thanks to donations and purchases from the community. For more information, visit www.goodwillsp.org.
Media Contacts
Molly Thompson | PR & Social Media Manager | Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont | Phone: (704) 332-0262 | Email: molly.thompson@goodwillsp.org
Melinda Wilshire | Director, Marketing & Communications | Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont | Phone: (704) 916-1616 | Email: melinda.wilshire@goodwillsp.org
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