Founder Yael Cantor talks with guests during the pop-up.
While there are many words used to describe jobs in the food and beverage world, with “service” and “hospitality” used interchangeably, both describe the action of helping or providing something for someone, or the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.
For 29-year-old Yael Cantor, formerly of Mamma Zu and Saison, the words are second nature. When Cantor, co-founder of the Mediterranean- and Jewish-inspired pop-up dining concept Susie & Esther, was plotting her next move in life, she says she thought to herself, “I need to do these things I’ve always wanted to do.”
What she wanted to do, it turns out, was what she had been doing all along. In August, Cantor launched Service RVA, a nonprofit pop-up series hosted by industry workers, where all proceeds benefit local community organizations. Restaurants donate space, and chefs, bartenders and servers donate their time.
Initially unsure of the reception to such an idea from an industry that has been and continues to be among those most affected by the pandemic, Cantor posted a story to her Instagram account asking if people would be willing to help. She was flooded with messages.
Hayley Hillfield, bar manager from Lemaire
“So many servers and bartenders and BOH [back-of-house staff] were asking, ‘What can I do? This is my background,’ ” says Cantor, noting that her own pop-up events aided in preparing her for this moment. “People want to help, and sometimes it’s just about finding a way that’s accessible for people to do that.”
For the first event, Donnie Glass, chef and co-owner of Grisette, offered up his Church Hill restaurant; Tim Skirven, can designer for The Veil Brewing Co., made logos and flyers; Marcelo Lopez-Cortez of The Jasper and Hayley Hillfield from Lemaire served drinks; while servers from Helen’s and Sabai waited on guests.
Cantor says she and her partner in business and life, Tony Hacker, have always been community focused. While hosting their Susie & Esther pop-up series, they donated funds to medical support and humanitarian aid organizations in Gaza, in addition to the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum chapter in Atlanta.
“I can only speak for myself, but I always felt passionate about [community],” Cantor says. “It’s always been really easy to get wrapped up in life. It’s easy to forget about everyone in the community, and Richmond feels small, but there’s a lot of people here, and sadly the government isn’t going to help us how we need them to, so all we can do is be there for each other.”
Susie & Esther prepared hummus bowls for the first Service RVA event.
Not only does Service RVA allow food and beverage workers to find a way to connect and engage with the community using their skills, Cantor says, it also helps establish camaraderie.
“I felt like this could be a fun way to do that and combine different industry people in the community,” she says. “It’s a cool way to have restaurant industry people get together, especially working with people you’ve never worked with before. … There’s hundreds of different restaurants in Richmond, and it’s a way for us to volunteer in our own [element].”
The inaugural Service RVA event raised more than $1,000 for Mutual Aid Distribution Richmond. The next pop-up is scheduled to take place at Helen’s restaurant and will feature burgers from Smashper, a pop-up concept from The Jasper's Brandon Peck. Cantor says the goal is to host one event every month, and she hopes the series has a ripple effect on others.
“That’s the dream, that other people will get inspired by this and someone else with a different skill set says, ‘Hey, I can use my skills to help the community in a different way,’ ” she says.
To learn about future events or opportunities to get involved, follow Service RVA on Instagram at instagram.com/service_rva.
