This section of our website is dedicated to our public advocacy work raising awareness of mental health issues in the hospitality industry. Please click on one of the below articles or podcasts to stay up-to-date on our work.
We thank all publications and podcast hosts for allowing us to spread our message.
We thank all publications and podcast hosts for allowing us to spread our message.
2022
8/22 - The Times-Tribune: 'Love, Charlie' Screening to Benefit Hospitality Workers.
We are so excited that Bar Pazzo of Scranton, PA is hosting a viewing of "Love, Charlie" to benefit Restaurant After Hours! Article - click here. |
7/22 - Huffington Post: Substance-Use Lifestyle of Chefs: How Does One Escape?
Our Founder Zia Sheikh speaks with writer Garin Pirnia who highlights his personal story from how he started cooking to founding Restaurant After Hours. Article - click here. |
5/22 - Mental Health Action Day 2022
Restaurant After Hours is joining MTV and 1600 other nonprofits, brands, and government agencies for the second annual Mental Health Action Day, which is Thursday, May 19th. Take a look at all of our partners and read about all the efforts. Website - click here. |
5/22 - The Giving Kitchen: Mind Matters
Founder Zia Sheikh goes live with The Giving Kitchen to talk about substance misuse, recovery, and his own path to sobriety. Video - click here. |
3/22 - Orlando Sentinel/MSN:
Documentary Explores the Life of Legendary Chef Charlie Trotter. We are so humbled and proud to be named the beneficiary of "Love, Charlie", a thought-provoking documentary showcasing many aspects of the mental health of chefs, as told through the story of Chef Charlie Trotter. Article - click here. |
2/22 - Mental Health Webinar for
HopDoddy Staff HopDoddy restaurant group invites our Founder Zia Sheikh and mental health advocate Serah Morrissey to share their stories and educate the HopDoddy management team about how best they can take care of their staff and one another. Video - click here. |
1/22 - Plate Online: Five Ways Restaurant Workers Can Build Mental Resilience
Board member Erin Reifsnyder and Director of Mental Health Operations Julie D'Amico contribute to this informative and powerful article as part of Plate Online's Restaurant Mental Health Toolkit (entire toolkit can be found in our Downloads section.) Article - click here. |
2021
10/21 - James Beard Awards 2021
Honoring Restaurant Workers Community Foundation at the James Beard Awards, our Founder Zia Sheikh joins the RWCF team to talk about the mental health challenges many hospitality workers faced this past year. Video Clip - click here. |
10/21 - FoodTank: 22 Organizations Supporting Mental Health
We are so humbled and proud to be included alongside all these great and hard-working organizations supporting mental health of hospitality workers. Article - click here 10/21 - Plate Online: How Hospitality Workers Identify and Manage Stress.
Julie D'Amico, our Director of Mental Health Operations, lends her expertise about how hospitality workers can identify and manage stress. Article - click here. |
9/21 - Bar & Restaurant: It's Too Much. We're Exhausted. Maybe This Will Help.
We are thankful Bar & Restaurant included Restaurant After Hours as a resource at the end of their very important mental health article describing the issues hospitality workers are currently facing. Article - click here. |
8/21 - The Cuisine Press (Japan)
We reached Japan! Food writer Kuni Yasutake shared our work with Japanese readers whom shared a significantly favorable response! We are excited and thrilled that our organization provided them a starting point for important discussions! For those interested in a translated transcript, please reach out. Article - click here. |
5/21 - Best Served Podcast: Mental Health Mise En Place - Workplaces Worth Working
Founder Zia Sheikh joins Chefs Jensen Cummings and Patrick Mulvaney to talk about how to improve mental health in the restaurant industry on a day-to-day level. Youtube - click here. |
5/21 - Best Served Podcast Blog: Return on Assets, Not Investment
Founder Zia Sheikh shares his thoughts about why we should stop using the term ROI in relations to restaurant workers and people. Article - click here. |
5/21 - Mental Health Action Day
We were thrilled to partner with Mtv and hundreds of other non-profits, government agencies, and advocates for the first ever Mental Health Action Day. Website - click here. |
5/21 - The Giving Kitchen: Mind Matters
During Mental Health Awareness Month, our Founder Zia Sheikh did a seminar titled "Introduction to Mental Health First Aid" for Giving Kitchen. He also was included on a panel titled "Substance Abuse in the Industry" alongside Andrew Zimmern, Steve Palmer, and Patrick Mulvaney. Website - click here. |
5/21 - CHART: The Silent Side Effect
Our Founder Zia Sheikh acted as Keynote Speaker for CHART, who hosted a regional training forum and panel discussion on the subject of mental health in the hospitality industry.Article - click here. |
3/21 - On The Menu Podcast
Erin Reifsnyder talks with Ann and Peter Haigh of On The Menu Podcast about the mental health challenges our industry faces, her role within Restaurant After Hours, and the support group program she helped create. Podcast - click here (Episode March 14, 2021). |
2/21 - Grubstreet: A new way to help restaurant workers' mental health.
Writer Chris Crowley highlights the details of Restaurant After Hours' new virtual support group program. Article - click here.
2020
12/20 - Grubstreet: All of this is kind of killing me right now.
Board Member Erin Reifsnyder speaks with Chris Crowley at Grubstreet regarding the crushing mental and physical toll restaurant workers are facing working during the pandemic. Article - click here. |
12/20 - Perri Peltz Show on Sirius XM Radio
Our founder Zia Sheikh sat down with Perri Peltz and Matt O'Neill to discuss Restaurant After Hours and how hospitality workers are currently navigating the COVID-19 crisis. Download - click here. |
10/20 - Restaurant Workers Community Foundation: How to take your own mental health temperature.
Our founder Zia Sheikh wrote a letter to fellow hospitality employees outlining how to take their own mental health temperature for Restaurant Workers Community Foundation's October newsletter. Article - click here. |
10/20 - Heated: 10 ways restaurant staff can protect their mental health through the pandemic.
Journalist Andrea Strong thinks it's time we talk more candidly about Covid coping. Here she writes about ten different ways restaurant staff can do so. Article - click here. |
9/20 - 86'd: Straight Dialogue with Restaurant Leaders
In the "Recipes for Recovery" series, Founder Zia Sheikh speaks with Adam Stafford about how his personal mental health journey led him to found Restaurant After Hours, and how he has maintained his sobriety for almost two years. Podcast - click here. |
6/20 - Plate Online: Chefs find a way to create space for grief and loss in their restaurants.
Food writer Caroline Hatchett sheds light on a topic very seldom talked about in restaurants. With constant change happening due to COVID-19, how do we create space for grief and loss when speaking to our staff? Article - click here. |
5/20 - A Balanced Glass: Five bright stars for these dark times.
Incredibly humbled to be included with such great company. Fellow hospitality nonprofit A Balanced Glass recognizes the efforts the team at Restaurant After Hours put into our approachable and easy-to-navigate resources page. Article - click here. |
3/20 - Los Angeles Times: Resources for restaurants and workers affected by the coronavirus crisis.
In the wake of COVID-19's tremendous effect on the US restaurant industry, the LA Times listed Restaurant After Hours as a prime mental health resource for restaurant workers. Article - click here. |
2/20 - The Washington Post: Apps have turned restaurant work into a gig-economy hustle.
Proud to have our work featured in The Washington Post. The story highlights the ins and outs of freelance work, mental health of hospitality workers, and the overall work our founder has been doing since launch. Article - click here. |
Restaurant Workers Community Foundation - 2019, 2020, and 2021 Grant Recipient
Proud to be recognized and honored with three general operating grants by Restaurant Workers Community Foundation in 2019, 2020, and 2021. We are humbled to be included with such great company. 2019 Article - click here. |
2019
11/19 - StarChefs International Chef's Congress: Self-care, mental health, and moving forward.
On Monday, October 28th, 2019, Zia Sheikh moderated a business panel titled "Self-Care, Mental Health & Moving Forward" at 2019's StarChefs' ICC. |
8/19 - Pared Pro-File: Zia Sheikh and Restaurant After Hours
To help amplify the organization's message, Zia Sheikh has been working with apps such as Pared, Flex, and Instawork in and around the NYC area to meet other industry professionals and speak to managers about how to build better kitchen cultures. Here, Pared writes about his progress on their blog. Article - click here. |
4/19 - Why Food? on Heritage Radio Network
In April 2019 Zia Sheikh sat down with Ethan Frisch of Why Food? podcast on Heritage Radio Network. Him and Ethan speak about kitchen culture and the changes we need to begin to make. Podcast - click here. |
2/19 - StarChefs: Zia's Story: Addiction and Mental Health in Hospitality
When Restaurant After Hours was launched the industry noticed. Here, Zia Sheikh opens up to Erin Lettera of StarChefs about his mental health journey and how he founded Restaurant After Hours. Article - click here. |