Birmingham restaurant wins statewide award for community service

Rojo has a packed lunchtime crowd under an awning and umbrellas. Great places to dine outdoors around Birmingham, Alabama. (Frank Couch\fcouch@al.com)

Rojo, a restaurant in Birmingham's Highland Park, is being recognized for its community service.

The restaurant won the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's 2018 Restaurant Neighbor Award for the state of Alabama.

Rojo was nominated for the prestigious award in November 2017. The award honors restaurants that go above and beyond in community service and philanthropy and aims to inspire other restaurateurs to get or stay involved in their local communities.

The restaurant, which Clark Lopez and Laney DeJonge opened in 2002, will now compete with other state winners across the country for the national award.

"We are honored to receive this award and hope to continue to support these worthy causes in our city and state for many years to come," Lopez said.

Three national winners will receive a $10,000 award to help support their favorite charity or community project. In addition to the award, the national winners will be flown to Washington, DC to receive the award at an awards dinner in April 2018.

"We would love to go to D.C. for the national award and bring the $10,000 back to our community," DeJonge said. "Birmingham has so many great non-profits that are trying to make our city better. We recognize how hard it is for these groups to raise money and are glad we can help them by people eating at our restaurant."

All state winners will receive a commemorative plaque to display in their restaurant and will be profiled on the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's website highlighting their community activities.

Rojo is locally known for giving to numerous non-profits with their 10 percent Tuesdays, where they donate a percentage of their evening sales. The restaurant also provides food for charity events throughout the city and allow community groups to use its side room for meetings. Rojo also sponsors many organizations, such as Sidewalk Film Festival and Alabama Environmental Council.

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