On January 7, 2025, Fair Oaks Burger faced an evacuation due to a nearby fire. Co-owner Janet Lee, alerted by a customer, prioritized safety and left with employees as flames approached. Later, they discovered their family home had burned down, but the restaurant survived. In February, they established a temporary kitchen to continue serving the community through food distribution events, supported by World Central Kitchen and organizer Susan Park, demonstrating the spirit of resilience and community support in times of crisis.
We told our employees, let's just leave everything. We'll come back tomorrow. We can clean in the morning. Let's just be safe. So we all evacuated.
Both my parents were in their pajamas. All they had was their driver's licenses and some money they hid in the freezer.
This collaboration started when the family was approached by community organizer Susan Park, who suggested doing food distribution events that Park would pay for out of pocket.
World Central Kitchen found out about the plan, they stepped in and paid for the food, and more community organizations reached out to collaborate.
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