September 17 is the kickoff of the Atlanta Falcons' first game of the season in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But the sport is not the only reason fans will turn out at the stadium. They will also be enjoying the new eateries the venue has to offer such as The West Nest, a concession stand located on level 300, per Fast Company.
The West Nest is unlike many of the restaurants at the stadium because it has taken serving the people of Atlanta to new heights.
The staff will consist entirely of local chefs, graduates and current students of the free culinary courses through Westside Works.
The reason for such efforts?
Team owner Arthur M. Blank wants to make sure that the locals of the impoverished Westside neighborhood are reaping the benefits of the arena.
Blank is the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and is making these contributions through his Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
The foundation has already made outstanding efforts toward public health initiatives in the area and spent $9 million in the process.
The culinary program is partnered with Levy Restaurants and includes a six-week course, tuition-free.
The courses range from everything from kitchen safety to cuisine prep and recipe troubleshooting.
“I just typically want everybody to have a solid foundation but then be ready to go out and be an asset for whatever chef they are going to be working with,” says Juliet Peters, the program's culinary instructor.
But the graduates are not only employed at The West Nest. Many have been hired at restaurants around Atlanta such as Twin Smoker's BBQ, Honeysuckle Gelato and the Ford Fry Restaurant Group.
Westside Works not only supports aspiring chefs to find work, but is based on community building, family work assistance and more.
The program has helped people gain training and find jobs in healthcare, IT, construction and childhood education.
“We heard repeatedly that the No. 1 priority was jobs,” says the foundation's VP of community development, Frank Fernandez.
With the average African American household earning only $19,000 per year and the unemployment rate skyrocketing, per the urban planning report, initiatives like this couldn't come at a more opportune time.
“Most of the stuff I’m learning you’d have to go to culinary school for, but this is a free education,” says Cassandra Gee, a 33-year-old mother who graduated from the program last November. “It’s wonderful. It’s a really brilliant deal.”
Because of the program, Gee was able to use that experience to get a job at Cheesecake Factory.
“I told them about the program and… [the manager] was ready to hire me,” she says.
Peters says that it's not just about the food, but because of the available hours and the free education, it is changing lives.
“It’s not just an altruistic thing, this works,” she says. “The recipe is right and people's lives are changing.”
