Joining Gala Goers to Celebrate, Share Our Last Straw & Say No to Initiative #77

Our teams from across all of our restaurants and distillery donned their fanciest duds, and even some very creative costumes, to join DC gala goers at the annual RAMMYS Awards Gala. Last night’s event had a slightly different spin than years past. In addition to celebrating DC’s winners, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, included two important advocacy efforts to the evening’s conversations.

The restaurant industry was clearly saying two big no’s last night, and Farmers Restaurant Group was there to add our voices and lead industry efforts.

The first no was a no vote on Initiative #77 to save tips.

The second was a pledge to say no to plastic straws across the area’s restaurant and hospitality industry.

Farmers Restaurant Group has just launched a campaign to eliminate single-use plastic straws across the DMV. Our Last Straw is seeking partners in the local hospitality industry to commit to stop serving plastic straws and individuals to make a pledge to #StopSucking and join the movement to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics.

To help with our efforts, we brought our campaign mascot, Eddy the Turtle, to help tell the tale of why single-use plastic straws are harmful to the planet and all of its beautiful creatures. Eddy was inspired by the famous YouTube turtle that was saved after having been found with a plastic cocktail straw in his nostril.

Kathy Hollinger, President & CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, shared our efforts with gala goers announcing that we all need to work together to eliminate plastic straws, starting now. No plastic straws were provided at the gala, and she encouraged restaurants and individuals alike to take action and join the Our Last Straw coalition.