Rooster & Rice Offers Safe Spaces as San Francisco Sees Spikes in Asian-American Targeted Violence
The Thai food chain is offering its restaurants as safe spaces for members of the Asian-American community and donating $2 of every meal purchase to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 19, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rooster & Rice, a Thai restaurant chain that has served the Bay Area since 2015, is opening its doors to the Asian-American community to provide refuge from the recent spike in race-oriented attacks around San Francisco.
After recognizing the disturbing increase in Asian-targeted violence in the Bay Area since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rooster & Rice decided it was time to act. Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans saw a 150% increase in 2020, and a single week in February saw three racially-charged incidents including the brutal assault on an elderly man in Oakland, the robbery and assault of a Vietnamese woman in San Jose and the murder of a Thai man in San Francisco. Additionally, on a national scale, Asian-Americans are mourning this week after eight people were shot dead at a spa in Atlanta.
"As an establishment that is proud to have Asian-American founders and offer Asian cuisine, we are shocked and saddened by what is happening to Asian-Americans, especially our elders," said Rooster & Rice Board Member Min Park. "We want the entire community to be safe and feel protected, so anyone who feels threatened can come wait in one of our locations for as long as needed until they feel safe or use our phones to call for support."
The brand is also donating $2 from every meal sold to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative (AAPI), which takes a united stand against racism. Rooster & Rice is partnering with national movement Hate is A Virus, a nonprofit community that strives to spread awareness around Asian-related racism and hate.
"We want to be a beacon of safety for the Asian community," said Founder and Operator Bryan Lew. "This is not a monetary effort. We want to help and support the Asian-American community and bring increased awareness to their plight."
Rooster & Rice has six locations in San Francisco, two in San Jose, one in Pleasanton and one in Redwood City. For more information and for specific addresses, visit http://www.roosterandrice.com/locations.
About Rooster & Rice
Founded by career restaurateurs Bryan Lew and Tommy Charoen, Rooster & Rice has been serving fresh, organic Thai dishes to Bay Area diners since its first location opened as a pop-up in a San Francisco hot dog shop in 2015. An instant hit, the brand rapidly expanded into multiple permanent locations. In 2019, Rooster & Rice partnered with Aroi Hospitality Group, a restaurant group whose team includes two of the founders of food-delivery app Caviar, to help the brand develop in new markets.
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SOURCE Rooster & Rice
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