New Orleans native son Sam Kogos and his wife Pat of Riverbend Restaurant & Bar know full well the impact of Katrina on those displaced by the storm ten years ago. NOLA ex-pats regularly gather at their restaurant for LSU games and alumni association events. Others yearn for a taste of home, of red beans and rice, jambalaya, and po-boys done right, for a connection to the place they knew before Katrina devastated neighborhoods and flooded 80-percent of the city.
Ten years after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in late August, the recovery continues. To continue the ongoing work, the Kogos' will donate 10% of the restaurant’s sales this weekend, August 28th through August 30th, to the Urban League of Greater New Orleans.
Riverbend regular and New Orleans native Vanessa Baughman remembers well the devastation that followed the hurricane. Her job with Monsanto brought her to St. Louis prior to the storm, but ten years ago she returned to the Gulf Coast, to Poplarville, Mississippi, to be with her dying father.
“My father died on Thursday. His funeral was on Saturday, and on Sunday I evacuated my step-mother, grandmother, brother and 2 dogs to northern Mississippi,” Baughman says. “The following week, my grandmother wanted to return to her home in Baton Rouge. After a terrible drive over back roads, we saw two pine trees had fallen in her kitchen. My family would not return to the Gulf Coast until March of the following year.”
“Even though the tourist-y areas have been mostly rebuilt, a lot of work remains in the neighborhoods and parishes,” she says. “The city needs to attract young professionals to continue the rebuilding process. The Urban League brings the resolve and idealism needed to attract young people to New Orleans.”
Baughman and her friends who gather at Riverbend are spreading the word via email and social media to gather at Riverbend, eat gumbo and do good.
“We (NOLA natives) take pride in the idealistic view that we can get through anything together. When Sam told us about the fundraiser, we see his efforts as another demonstration of his love for our hometown. Food brings people together and Riverbend – it’s an infectious, open place. This weekend we will gather, eat good food and donate, remembering ten years ago, when we were devastated by the storm, we knew we would survive.”
Eat Gumbo. Do Good. A fundraiser at Riverbend Restaurant & Bar. This weekend. Friday, August 28th through Sunday, August 30th.
Riverbend Restaurant & Bar
1059 S. Big Bend
Richmond Heights
314-664-8443
Dinner Hours:
Tue - Thu: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Sun: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Website: riverbendbar.com
Facebook: Riverbend Restaurant & Bar
