Our Kickstarter Campaign
Join us and be part of something special! We are a registered 501c3 restaurant seeking funds to make this unique concept a reality. All donations are to a non-profit organization and receipts are available upon request.
Gathering Industries is an Atlanta-based non-profit business providing a “re-generation” opportunity: A second chance for those who seek it. By working in collaboration with Atlanta Missions, a local faith-based homeless shelter, the Gathering Restaurant will employ individuals that have successfully completed transitional programs for drug and alcohol dependencies as well as prison-release programs.
website: Atlanta Missions
Homeless statistics in Georgia reflect over 20,000 homeless on a given night. Over thirty five percent (35%) of these are in the metropolitan Atlanta and our goal is to provide vocational opportunities to those that seek it.
The foundation of Gathering Industries is to refill the hope of these unemployed men and women, which will ultimately carry them into being able to find jobs in the hospitality industry. In order to get to the point of job-seeking, these workers will be thoroughly trained in all aspects of the restaurant business with an in-depth emphasis on culinary skills and food-handling. This process will ensure exemplary dishes on the community’s tables, and once the individuals have completed these programs, The Gathering will be the key into a restaurant’s door which will begin an entirely new adventure for them; leaving behind the addictions and troubles that kept them from ever moving forward into the workforce.
Chef Alex Reethof, co-founder of Gathering Industries, has been in the culinary/hospitality industry for over thirty years. He has performed management opportunities as well as hosted his own cooking show “Back to the Table.” By his side is Chef Lake Dawson who has been academically and socially equipped in business management as well as administration. With their expertise in both business and the culinary arts, while also being heavily moved by the homeless communities in Atlanta, Reethof and Dawson are capable and ready to give more than enough knowledge to fully skill and prepare the incoming workers as they journey through their second chance.
Therefore, the benefit of The Gathering’s community is the individual’s success. This success will not only exemplify the true splendor of serving others, but it will also raise awareness and spark more lost hearts in Atlanta into seeking that same sense of bettering their life’s circumstances. In a city that is full of fast-paced living, The Gathering believes that through this business, the changing of the workers’ lives will be so evident, that it will also benefit the people of Atlanta by causing them to pause and rest in the importance of opportunity, community, and love.
One person working alone can start a movement, but The Gathering can change lives. Let’s sit down, have a meal, and make a difference.
Please check out Chef Alex Reethof’s Youtube channel for further evidence of culinary experience.
Risks and challenges
The first obvious challenge is breaking through the concept that customers will be served by “Homeless People” off the street. The people working in the restaurant are graduates of the Atlanta Missions “Transitional Program”. These men and women spent 12 to 18 months in a program that results in clean and sober graduates. These men and women truly seek a way out and embrace the vocational opportunity with The Gathering. These men and women serving the public through The Gathering will blend in and surprise the public as they will be just like you and me.