Community support

Banfi and One Warm Coat Launch Partnership

by David Klemt

Wine producer and importer Banfi Vintners is partnering with non-profit One Warm Coat to help people in need and encourage others to host coat drives.

For anyone unfamiliar, One Warm Coat is a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit operating throughout the US. Established in 1992, the nonprofit has helped organize nearly 50,000 coat drives. More than 5,500 of these drives took place during the 2022 to 2023 season, providing in excess of 550,000 coats.

So far, with their partners, they’ve collected and distributed close to eight million coats. These partners include Land’s End, J.Crew, Todd Snyder, Duluth Trading Co., and now Banfi.

To launch their partnership, Banfi seeded the program with a donation that will provide 50,000 coats. In announcing this partnership, Banfi and One Warm Coat hope to encourage others to give back, host coat drives, and help those in need within their communities.

Canadian operators and their teams can find One Warm Coat partners by clicking here and searching their city. I found partners in and around Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.

In addition to helping provide people in need with coats, sustainability is key to One Warm Coat’s mission. To date, the organization has helped keep 19.4 million pounds of clothing out of landfills.

Charity Navigator, which rates the trustworthiness of charities, gives One Warm Coat a score of 98 percent.

To learn more, please review the press release below.

BANFI VINTNERS PARTNERS WITH ONE WARM COAT TO SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITY

Italian wine producer and importer offers support to individuals in need through seasonal coat drive

NEW YORK, NY—Banfi, producer and importer of fine wines, proudly announces its partnership with national non-profit organization, One Warm Coat. Banfi kicked off the program with a donation that will warm 50,000 people in need.

“One Warm Coat is thrilled to team up with Banfi this holiday season to share warmth with those in need across the country while promoting volunteerism and environmental sustainability,” shares Beth Amodio, President and CEO, One Warm Coat.

In addition, the partnership with One Warm Coat allows Banfi to spread the word and encourage coat drives at various retail and restaurant accounts across the country, extending the program’s reach and multiplying the number of donations collected. One example can be found not too far from Banfi’s NY headquarters; based in upstate New York, Banfi’s distributor partner, Empire Merchants North has made it a key focus to promote the brand’s initiative on their website and social channels to bolster the partnership and encourage dozens of retailers to support the cause.

“Empire Merchants North proudly joined Banfi’s One Warm Coat program to extend our commitment beyond beverages. Embracing social responsibility, we believe in making a positive impact by contributing to the well-being of our community, aligning seamlessly with Banfi’s philanthropic mission. Our enthusiastic employees joyfully embraced this initiative, embodying our shared commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need,” shares President and CEO of Empire Merchants North Eric Pfeil.

“One of our favorite aspects of working with One Warm Coat is its ability to support the local community. The donations stay in the community where they’re collected, so it’s truly heartening to see the widespread response in the market,” shares Banfi President and CEO Cristina Mariani-May.

About Banfi Wines

Banfi, producer and importer of fine wines, was founded in 1919 and is today woman-owned and operated by third-generation family proprietor Cristina Mariani-May. Banfi is the sole U.S. importer of the Mariani family’s internationally renowned wine estates in Italy: Castello Banfi of Montalcino, Tuscany, and Banfi Piemonte of Strevi, Piedmont. Castello Banfi is credited with pioneering a new era in Brunello and bringing the wine world’s attention to Montalcino, while Banfi Piemonte produces the family’s sparkling wines. Banfi’s wide range of wines offers affordable luxury and includes the flagship Brunello di Montalcino, Super Tuscans, Tuscan Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Sparkling and more varieties.

About One Warm Coat

One Warm Coat is a national cloud-based 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free coats to individuals in need. Since 1992, One Warm Coat has facilitated 49,000 coat drives across the country, collecting 8 million coats that have been distributed through more than 1,500 nonprofit partners. Individuals and organizations can get involved by donating coats, holding coat drives, and making financial donations. One Warm Coat believes in each person’s right to shelter from the elements and is committed to sharing warmth, without discrimination, one coat at a time.

Image: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Ocean Casino Resort Summertime Celebrations

by David Klemt

Ocean Casino Resort is celebrating an impressive milestone all summer long through creative local business partnerships.

This summer, the resort will reach its fifth anniversary. The festivities will begin May 26, a month before Ocean’s “birthday.”

However, rather than focus solely on the resort and casino, Ocean is choosing to celebrate the community it serves as well. These fifth birthday activations and initiatives are an excellent lesson for operators across all hospitality business categories.

I’m sure operators—all hospitality professionals, really—will agree that restaurants and bars are integral elements of any community’s bedrock. Increasingly, the same can be said of hotels. In fact, large hotel groups are investing in the development of smaller imprints that are tasked with the mission of serving locals and local businesses.

When a restaurant, bar, hotel, or nightclub reaches annual milestones, it’s largely due to community support. Sure, businesses in destination cities benefit greatly from tourist visits. However, for most markets, longevity is anything but assured without local backing and buy-in.

It’s clear that the importance of local support isn’t lost on Ocean. This summer’s celebrations include several local partnerships and community initiatives to pay that support back.

Local Partnerships

Last year, the Ocean leveraged the demise of the Choco Taco. So far in 2023, Ocean has supported Philly and KC during the Big Game, and gotten creative with cocktails that raised funds for the Girl Scout Troops of Southern and Central New Jersey.

Local partnerships are key to Ocean’s five-year celebration:

The Seed: Created Seeds of the Ocean for Ocean’s five-year anniversary.
Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall: Seeds of the Ocean lager will also be available at this local beer hall.
Rhythm & Spirits: Joining forces with Little Water Distillery to feature their gin in the Oceans 5 cocktail.
Little Water Distillery: Their Rusted Revolver Indigenous Gin is the star of the Oceans 5 cocktail, mentioned above. The distillery has also created the Chocolate Cake Martini, featuring Bar 32 chocolate shavings.
Hank Sauce: For those who prefer their celebrations spicy, Ocean and Hank Sauce have collaborated on Across the Boards. This hot sauce will accompany food items at restaurants inside Ocean.
Tony Boloney’s: They’ve created the High 5 pizza to celebrate Ocean’s birthday. This is another collaboration within a collaboration, as it features Seed of the Ocean lager and Across the Boards hot sauce.
Bar 32: What celebration is complete without something sweet? Bar 32 (a bean-to-bar chocolatier) and Ocean will be offering three commemorative chocolate bars: the Berry Pretzel Bar, Party Pretzel Bar, and Salty Peanut Butter Bar.
Mudgirl Studios: Ocean has commissioned several handmade, one-of-one pieces from this non-profit that will be featured not just in common areas on the property but also in some of the guest rooms.
Atlantic City Arts Foundation: To help celebrate its fifth birthday, Ocean has collaborated with the ACAF for a three-panel mural that will have a home at Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall.

Creative & Compelling

What I find most notable about these local partnerships is how several of them intertwine.

Not only did Ocean commission an exclusive beer, a local restaurant chain is using it for a pizza. That same restaurant chain is also using a hot sauce Ocean had created to celebrate their milestone. There are other collaborations that bring Rhythm & Spirits, Little Water Distillery, and Bar 32 together.

However, Ocean is doing more than just supporting a select group of local businesses. Mudgirl Studios employs and empowers at-risk, homeless and formerly incarcerated women. The ACAF, as one would imagine, inspires and empowers people to pursue the arts. Both support and strengthen communities throughout Atlantic City, and Ocean is giving back by supporting them.

In addition to all of that, the celebrations kick off on Memorial Day Weekend with a $300,000 sweepstakes. All in, there will be more than $5 million in promotions and giveaways in play over the course of this summer. From June 24 to July 4, Ocean is putting up one million dollars for a second sweepstakes.

Then there are Tesla giveaways, birthday fireworks, the Birthday Bar Pop-up Experience at 1927 Lounge inside Ocean Resort Casino, and Ocean’s sponsorship of the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival.

Nola's Bar & Lounge inside Ocean Casino Resort

Look for Ocean’s birthday drinks at property bars like Nola’s Bar & Lounge

Again, it would be easy for Ocean to have simply planned a celebratory weekend, week, or month, focusing solely on themselves. Instead, they’re involving several small businesses and community organizations.

Takeaways

Do I expect restaurant and bar operators to somehow offer $5 million in giveaways to celebrate a milestone? Or even $300,000? Perhaps a Tesla?

No, of course not.

However, I do think operators should really put thought into celebrating their annual milestones. Surviving the first 12 months is a huge achievement. Making it through the first 18 months and hitting the two-year anniversary is just as challenging.

So, operators should take four to six months to plan their celebrations. Additionally, they should view these events as a way to thank the community for supporting them. And, of course, that includes being grateful for beneficial business relationships.

When considering marking these achievements, it’s wise to include local businesses. Craft brewers and distillers, local farmers and vintners, non-profit organizations… All the better if the selected partners can collaborate with one another to make the celebration and partnerships that much more impactful.

Operators should take a page out of Ocean’s celebration handbook and look for creative, thoughtful collaborations. Doing so lifts up others and pays local support forward, in turn making the entire community stronger.

It’s perfectly acceptable for an operator to be proud and celebrate milestones. But it’s even better for operators to celebrate those who help them thrive.

Images courtesy of Ocean Casino Resort