Rick Erwin Dining Group launches Crab Cakes for a Cause

Rick Erwin Dining Group has launched a new charitable initiative that deepens the company’s commitment to supporting the needs of the community. Crab Cakes for a Cause will use a popular item featured on all of its restaurant menus, the Company Crab Cakes, to enhance customer awareness of the needs of our local nonprofits. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this customer-favorite menu item will be donated back to the community.

The first partnership created through Crab Cakes for a Cause will benefit Meals on Wheels of Greenville County. The restaurant group, known for its fine-dining steak and seafood restaurants across the Upstate, kicked off the partnership with a $25,000 donation at the nonprofit’s annual Sweetheart Charity Ball. Meals on Wheels provides nourishment and friendship through hand-delivered meals to nearly 1,500 households in Greenville County every day, which, in turn, supports independent living and helps fight loneliness.

“At the Rick Erwin Dining Group, we have always been committed to providing hospitality and creating memorable experiences for the people we serve,” says Owner & CFO Michael Ivey. “Meals on Wheels shares a similar mission of creating memorable experiences for the home-bound clients they serve, which is why this first partnership was so easy to make.”

Crab Cakes for a Cause stemmed from company leadership’s realization that local nonprofits need more help than ever in today’s economy. The Company Crab Cakes are the one menu item that’s consistent across every Rick Erwin’s restaurant, so it was the obvious choice to feature through the initiative. “We are taking our internal commitment to hospitality and extending it through external partnerships to make a difference in the lives of those in need,” says Ivey.

Crab Cakes for a Cause is Rick Erwin Dining Group’s commitment to giving back to the community at a much deeper & more meaningful level. In addition to providing much-needed financial support to local nonprofit partners, it also recognizes the strength of the restaurant group’s more than 300 employees and instills the value of volunteerism within the workplace. “Since our company’s inception in 2005, we have always supported the communities that support us. Now we feel an even bigger corporate responsibility and obligation to give at a more rewarding level that our employees can also enjoy”, says Ivey. “With Meals on Wheels, we’re donating money to help make the meals possible and providing the volunteerism to help package and deliver the meals to people in need. We are pledging both financial and human resources to strengthen the communities in which we live and work.”

Commitment to Community is now one of the company’s core values. New branding will put this long-term commitment front and center for the Rick Erwin Dining Group, to help increase awareness of the purpose behind Crab Cakes for a Cause and the needs of the partnerships the initiative will grow to support. “We want to connect with organizations whose missions align with ours and build partnerships with those that serve our community in meaningful ways,” says Ivey. “We want to be known for being more than just a great restaurant group. This commitment to our community is the lasting legacy we want to create for our company.”