Celebrity Waiter Night set for May 16

Bill Bengtson, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Apr. 23—Celebrity Waiter Night, an annual fundraiser for Children's Place, has some new faces and places in this year's arrangement, with the event planned for the evening of May 16.

One of the biggest changes will be the reach into North Augusta, to include Sno-Cap. One of the community's oldest eateries, it is now owned by Havird Usry who also known for his work via such Augusta establishments as Fat Man's Cafe and Southern Salads.

Another newcomer is one of Aiken's newest restaurants: Neon Fig, at 110 Park Ave. S.W., with a waitstaff associated with DayBreak Adult Care Services.

A former participant getting back on board is The Willcox, to be staffed by the "Oldies but Goldies" crew of Sara Wood, Bill Tucker, Jill Thomas, Dr. Paul Simons, David King, Mike Hosang, Tim Dangerfield and Pat Corey.

Among the returning boosters will be Security Federal Bank's Joe Lewis, largely known as a vice president and financial services officer. His crew ("Your Hometown Bankers") will be on duty at Casa Bella.

"I'm hoping this will be the first year in, I guess, three years that we'll be back to normal again," Lewis said, acknowledging COVID-19's impact since early 2020.

Lewis is on track to serve as a host instead of a waiter this time. Waiting tables, he said, "makes me appreciate my day job."

Celebrity Waiter Night is Children's Place's largest fundraiser of the year and "that event is for programs," he said. "It supports programs and services provided by Children's Place. It's not one of those things where you say, 'This money is used for bricks and mortar.' This directly supports programs and services provided during the year, and all the money stays here in the community."

Fuse, Malia's, Tailgate Tavern, Village Cafe and Whiskey Alley are among other restaurants to be on board next month. Some establishments participate in other ways, as is the case at Alley Taproom, which is donating May tips to Children's Place.

The mission of Children's Place, as stated on its website, is to "protect, heal and strengthen children and families from the impact of trauma and other adverse experiences through education, treatment, and prevention services."

Lewis commented, "They're working with underprivileged families and children of those families — sometimes with special-needs children with various disabilities — and they're helping them get a better start in their early years of life, and it's the only organization of its kind that specializes in that and those issues in our community for small, young children."

Among the top sponsors for this year's festivities are Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Floyd and Green Jewelers, Savannah River Mission Completion, Maxwell Law Firm and (first-time sponsor) IntelliSystems.