Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG), Chef Tyler Akin, Mayor Mike Purzycki, and restaurants joined the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) gathered on Friday to mark the success of the IRC x Wilmington series, a collection of dinners to benefit neighborhood restaurants and bars across the country.
The series featuring top national and local chefs ran from December 2021 through March. The series ultimately raised $100,000 to benefit the Independent Restaurant Coalition’s mission of supporting independent restaurants nationwide.
The series was curated by Tyler Akin, a Wilmington native, chef-partner of Le Cavalier at the Hotel Du DuPont, and founding IRC board member. Visiting chefs, including Jennifer Carroll, Ashley Christensen, Tom Colicchio, Gregory Gourdet, Niki Russ Federman, and Andrew Zimmern, collaborated with local chefs from Bardea, La Fia, Le Cavalier, Stitch House, and Wm. Mulherin’s Sons.
“Seeing this series come together was something of a dream come true,” said Akin. “As a board member of the IRC, I’m intimately aware of what $100,000 can do and for that, I am so grateful to the participating chefs who generously shared their time and talent with us; to our sponsors who supported the series; to BPG for believing in this series when it was just an idea; and to all the guests that took time out of their busy lives to dine with us in the name of supporting a larger mission.”
Throughout the series, a large focus for the IRC was getting the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) replenished, a program created with bipartisan support from 90 Senators. The Senate ultimately failed to pass funding to replenish the RRF in May, leaving nearly 200,000 restaurants without the financial assistance. The IRC continues to explore every possible avenue to give neighborhood restaurants and bars impacted by COVID-19 the relief they need to keep their doors open and keep their teams working – including grants, government relief programs, policy change, business, and mental health support
The Buccini/Pollin Group has invested $1.6 billion in an array of apartments, independent restaurants, music venues, and other ventures. The result is a dining scene that has gained national attention.
“My partners and I are so honored to be involved with the IRC x Wilmington project, which shed a light on the need to support restaurants nationally, in addition to locally,” said Rob Buccini, co-founder and co-president of BPG. “We’ve worked for many years to create a boutique, destination-worthy dining scene in our backyard and this project, along with our suite of stellar local restaurants, has brought incredible attention to the area and the need to keep restaurants afloat nationwide.”
The IRC x Wilmington series was supported by Chase, Doordash, Hotel Du Pont, Ouro Wines, San Pellegrino, and Standard Distributing along with host restaurants including Bardea, La Fia, and Le Cavalier.
