The response from the restaurant community has been awesome. We are just overwhelmed and very grateful that 30 restaurants have agreed to participate. We hope this is the first of many.

We need the community's support and that's what Dining for Disaster is all about.

Our hope is that 'Dining for Disaster' brings in $10,000.

Even though our chapter processed over $2 million in donations for Katrina, we didn't keep any of that.

We are just letting everybody in the community know that this is a possibility if they want to see their names up in lights.

I love the gay community. Naturally having been in this business since I was 17, I came into contact with gay people very young in my life. To me they were always the most talented, the kindest, they have the most wicked senses of humor - I always felt comfortable. I was never threatened, ever, and I just embraced them and loved them.