Community Impact

We plant a tree a day. One dollar. One Tree. One Planet.

This project began when we opened our first concept, Good Stuff Eatery, over 10 years ago. We wanted to give back to the community in a way that customers and friends could participate. This project involves planting and restoring thousands of trees within Brazil’s Caraíva River Basin and along the Frades River.

By going to the website you can join us in making this commitment to remove 12 tons of carbon dioxide per 2.4 acres, per year. If the project reaches its full 2,400-acre goal, it could remove up to 360,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over its 30-year lifespan. The power of community-- that’s roughly the equivalent of taking 65,000 cars off the road.

We have been great friends with the Mosier Family, Mark, Jenny, Michael and Lila, for a very long time. Micheline went to graduate school with Jenny’s first cousin, Rita, and the families all ended up living in the area, getting together often for holidays and birthday parties.

We were devastated to find out their son, Michael, was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a very rare tumor in the brain stem, when he was 6 years old.

Michael was a smart, funny, driven, courageous boy, who brightened everyone’s lives and battled DIPG with bravery beyond belief.

Each August sales of Michael’s Birthday Special, which includes a Shroom Burger, Toasted Marshmallow Shake and Snack Fry, go towards helping find a cure for DIPG. In addition, we participate in the Dream Big Gala every October and the Superhero Sprint & 6K Run that takes place over Memorial Day weekend along with many events throughout the year held in Michael’s honor.

Make sure to visit the defeatdipg.org website and see how you can help us work towards the end of pediatric brain cancer.

Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside girls and women in poverty because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year, CARE worked in more than 80 countries and reached more than 90 million people around the world.

This foundation reached out to Chef Spike to include him on a humanitarian culinary trip they were taking to Peru. Once meeting the hardworking people at CARE and learning about their mission to fight global poverty, we could not resist getting more involved. We stand behind CARE’s mission and have worked with CARE on several overseas trips and speaking engagements around the nation to highlight how, with a little help from your community, you can reach for the stars and make an important difference.

Chef Spike Mendelsohn is proud to be a CARE Chef Ambassador. Through his work with CARE, Spike reinforces his commitment to sustainable farming, local product sourcing and serves as a champion for the rights of the poor and small holder farmers worldwide.

We met the extraordinary people at DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) years before we opened our first restaurant. Their mission to end hunger differently is why Micheline became involved when she first moved to DC, volunteering to cut, slice and dice in their kitchen to help feed homeless people throughout the city.

As the years passed and our involvement grew, Micheline became a Board Member and Spike cohosts the Annual DCCK Food Fight alongside Chef Jose Andres. We also provide support and attend numerous events throughout the year to highlight the important work being done by DCCK.

The dedication of the staff at DCCK is what truly makes this organization shine, tirelessly working to give people a better chance at economic equality to build sustainable careers. Their program to help train unemployed adults into culinary careers speaks to us—how better to help people striving for a better life than by providing training and assistance in finding sustainable jobs so people can provide for themselves and their families. DCCK has expanded this mission with an exciting new program to get "at-risk" adolescents into the culinary arts with a goal to get them learning front and back of house so they can work and maintain jobs with the foundation and opportunity for further professional growth.

This is truly an amazing organization in every way and the Mendelsohn family is incredibly honored to be part of it.