The tornado that left a path of destruction in its wake throughout parts of Clayton, the Central West End, and many north St. Louis neighborhoods devastated several area restaurants. In the midst of so much despair, however, the restaurant community is stepping up to provide a source of hope, thanks to the efforts of the international aid organization World Central Kitchen.
A team from the nonprofit, founded by acclaimed chef José Andrés, arrived in St. Louis on Saturday evening and has been coordinating with area restaurant partners to provide food and water to those impacted by the storms.
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“WCK Chef Corps members in Missouri and Kentucky reached out on Saturday about the severe level of tornado impact on their communities,” the organization posted on its social media accounts Sunday afternoon. “By 5 p.m., local restaurant partners, including Salt + Smoke, Nudo House, and Up Late were serving hot meals in impacted neighborhoods. Now, we’re scaling up!”
Qui Tran, owner of Mai Lee and Nudo House, has been partnering with World Central Kitchen since Saturday and has been impressed with how quickly the organization has responded to the disaster, as well as the way that the St. Louis restaurant community has heeded the call to service. “[Saturday] night, I had a contact from World Central Kitchen reach out to help them pull resources, and I sent them contact information for about 25 different restaurants,” says Tran. “They got back with me and told me it was amazing; everyone they contacted wanted to help. These people were boots on the ground serving people within 24 hours.”
According to Tran, World Central Kitchen has set up three kitchens, which serve as both food preparation areas and distribution centers. The locations are St. Louis ArtWorks (5959 Delmar), the O’Fallon Park Rec Complex (4343 W. Florissant), and Centennial Christian Church (4950 Fountain). Anyone in need can show up at one of these locations to receive water and a hot meal.
Liz Caselli-Mechael, vice president of communications and marketing for World Central Kitchen, notes that the organization’s efforts are already providing relief to those in need. “We’re scaling up rapidly,” says Caselli-Mechael. “Today, teams delivered more than 1,500 lunches cooked by restaurant partners like Sugarfire and Salt + Smoke to local communities.”
Tran, who was on the ground with World Central Kitchen on Saturday evening, says the scope of the devastation is hard to put into words. “It’s so sad, and my heart is heavy,” says Tran. “They are really focusing their efforts on North City, which is the community most in need.”
Tran encourages anyone who wants to help aid World Central Kitchen relief efforts to reach out to him via his social media channels. World Central Kitchen also notes ways to get involved locally on its website.
“Seeing everyone get involved is a beautiful thing because it shows that the St. Louis restaurant community is what we claim it to be: a culture of working together to build our city,” says Tran. “While the damage is heartbreaking, seeing St. Louis coming together is heartwarming.”
