One of the first industries hit by the coronavirus shutdown was the food industry and celebrity chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri has stepped up in a big way. Friday afternoon, news surfaced that Fieri has led efforts to raise funds for those restaurant workers impacted by layoffs and furloughs in the wake of shutdowns. Fieri then appeared on an episode of TMZ Live, where he revealed the funds raised as a part of the movement total over $20 million.
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Two months after the shutdowns began, the Mayor of Flavortown has made a huge impact on those affected and the internet is loving it. Shortly after Fieri’s news surfaced Friday, the personality began trending on Twitter, where he remains one of the site’s top trends as of this writing.
Fieri helped to put together the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund as a part of recovery efforts on behalf of the National Restaurant Association. To date, the fund has awarded over 40,000 grants to those restaurant workers facing hardship due to being out of work. Should you care to donate to the cause โ or if you’re a worker impacted by the pandemic โ you can donate or apply for a grant here.
See what Fieri fans are saying about the chef’s hard work and generosity below:
Cover photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images
Vindication
history has vindicated guy fieri. the 2010s were wrong about so much https://t.co/n8WxquC3jP
โ ะะฐัะบะฐะผ ะธัะฟะพะฒะตะดะฐะปัะฝั (@Boringstein) May 8, 2020
We Stan a King
Guy Fieri is a king but you arenโt ready for that conversation pic.twitter.com/7lnPthiIF0
โ Allan Smith (@Allan22Smith) May 9, 2020
“Helluva Dork”
Guy Fieri is a dork, but a helluva dork he is.
โ Sports Plus (@PrepSportsPlus) May 9, 2020
He raised over $20 million for out of work restaurant workers.
His sister who was gay, died of cancer in 2011.
Guy Fieri got ordained and officiated a wedding for 101 gay couples.
Well done! pic.twitter.com/mYUWJAm7nF
Mayor. With a Capital M.
Mayor of Flavortown > every elected official
โ Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) May 9, 2020
Guy Fieri, ladies and gents… https://t.co/QhpcJAvshA
We Had No Answer Club
Guy Fieri and Keanu Reeves are the twin kings of the People We All Made Fun Of For Years Until One Day We Asked Wait, Why? And Realized We Had No Answer Club.
โ Where does Coily fit into God’s plan for us? (@tonygoldmark) May 9, 2020
Extremely Kind
Plenty of people dunk on Guy Fieri, but heโs in on the joke AND heโs running laps around people with good deeds. Weโve met briefly at Warriors games and heโs extremely kind.
โ Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) May 9, 2020
Never Ever
I donโt ever want to hear any Guy Fieri slander again. https://t.co/RaHzTMAxAh
โ Jon Acuff (@JonAcuff) May 9, 2020
Savior
Guy Fieri saving the day for restaurant workers isn’t a new thing. I worked at Cempazuchi in Milwaukee for 5 yrs. It was featured on Triple D’s & the restaurant went from a day away from closing to having HUGE sales for 8 yrs. The guy is a savior for local biz.
โ Scott would take writing community to the moon ๐ (@storysmithscb) May 9, 2020
HUGE PROPS! ๐๐ pic.twitter.com/hWMhS36JIi
Long Live the Mayor
GUY FIERI DOES THE WORK!๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ long live the mayor of flavourtown https://t.co/lSBFgCEMfE
โ Anne T. Donahue (@annetdonahue) May 8, 2020
Unproblematic King
I canโt believe I have defended guy Fieri for the last decade and he has consistently remained unproblematic. Every damn day I wait for the other shoe to drop and it never does ๐๐ปCounting my blessings tonight ๐๐ป๐ฏ
โ Gabby Noone (@twelveoclocke) May 9, 2020