TAMPA, Fla. — Downtown staple Mise En Place turned its 36th anniversary celebration into a way to support those impacted by the destruction Hurricane Ian left behind in southwest Florida.


What You Need To Know

  • Mise En Place in downtown Tampa celebrated 36 years in business Friday

  • The restaurant turned the event into a fundraiser for Hurricane Ian relief

  • The co-proprietor and CEO tells us proceeds will go to the non-profit World Central Kitchen

"It just makes sense to get together and, for one thing, be grateful for 36 years, be grateful just to be together, but also to help those that could have been us. We cannot forget about that. We have to celebrate with thoughtfulness," said Mise En Place co-owner and CEO Maryann Ferenc.

Ferenc said proceeds from ticket sales to Friday night's event will go to the non-profit World Central Kitchen. According to WCK's web site, it was founded in 2010 by Chef Jose Andres following the earthquake the devastated Haiti. It provides meals to communities impacted by natural disasters, including southwest Florida. Andres tweeted Friday that kitchen operations were set up in Tampa and Ferenc said one of her team members is helping out.

"One of my chefs, Chef Ben Hooper, spent since 6:00 AM today - and they need 30,000 meals to send into the hurricane situation," Ferenc said.

Ferenc said Mise En Place started out as a small gourmet carry out and catering operation.

"Because we were a couple of kids who loved the business and didn't really have the money to open a restaurant," she said.

The business grew through the years and has a location on West Kennedy Blvd. Owners also operate the Dewey Beach Bar & Grill in Pass-A-Grille. Ferenc she thinks a couple of things have kept customers coming back decade after decade.

"It's a love of food and drink and hospitality. I mean, we really love it. We just do," Ferenc said. "We're really just committed to the craft, you know? We love hospitality. We love making people feel good, and whether you're in our dining chair or in an outreach like this through World Central Kitchen, where we're serving somebody we'll never meet — either one of those things really feeds our soul."

Ferenc said Mise En Place plans to put a link to donate to their non-profit on their website so people can continue to help.