| April 2, 2020 | Culture Food & Drink Lifestyle
Today in Las Vegas, sbe, the global lifestyle hospitality brand, hosted an employee relief care package distribution to its 300+ furloughed and laid off employees as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Vegas is home to many sbe employees, so founder Sam Nazarian wanted to do this incredible giveback to support those being affected in the Las Vegas community. It is a major market in the hospitality world, and Las Vegas has been hit especially hard by this pandemic.
Known for global brands like Mondrian hotels, Shore Club, Delano and SLS hotels, nightlife entities like Hyde, Doheny Room, Skybar and S Bar, and restaurants like Katsuya, Cleo, F'ilia and Umami Burger, the sbe venues affected in the Las Vegas market include Kumi and Citizens restaurants, and Hyde lounge at T-Mobile Arena, among others.
Over 2000 care packages between Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Miami have now been given out to team members with San Francisco and Chicago next. The packages include household cleaning supplies, shower essentials, food goods such as beans, rice, tomato sauce and pasta, granola bars, cases of water, $50 gift cards for gas and groceries, toilet paper, and more.
sbe CEO & Founder Sam Nazarian
Images of sbe team members helping at the Las Vegas giveback on April 2nd at Boy Scouts of America
sbe, led by Founder & CEO Sam Nazarian has been taking incredible action in response to the pandemic. When the pandemic first began to hit a few weeks ago, Nazarian started a GoFundMe page to raise funds to support the sbe team members. For every dollar raised, sbe is matching the funds. So far over $110,000 has been raised. sbe.com/gofundme
As a result, sbe set up a Relief Fund and the first action is the care package delivery initiative. Over 2,000 care packages have been disseminated to date to the employees in LA, Las Vegas and Miami at pop up distribution centers at Hyde Sunset in LA, SLS South Beach in Miami and at Boy Scouts of America in Las Vegas. Another round in Miami is scheduled after Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Francisco. Each package is placed in the trunk of the employee by a gloved and masked worker.
"This fund has been set up to benefit the men and women that have served our restaurants, bars and nightlife venues for the last 20 years. This is an unprecedented time – we have never seen anything like this. These funds will directly benefit all of the sbe team members who cannot come to work and to support themselves and their families. In addition to this page, I am personally taking efforts to ensure we care for our team members who are temporarily out of work by providing extended benefits coverage and a combination of pay from sbe, combined with federal and state programs. This industry of 15 million people in the U.S. alone, woke up one morning and weren’t able to perform their jobs. As they have taken care of all of us for the past 2 decades, please join us to support our sbe team members now. We are aiming to go above and beyond for our team but we need your help NOW to help THEM. For every dollar you will donate, sbe will match the amount. Together, with your and our support, we will create care packages to deliver to our team members. Let’s support this incredible Tribe of people who have served and helped us for the past 20 years. Thank you." - CEO & Founder Sam Nazarian
Established in 2002 by Founder and CEO Sam Nazarian, sbe is a privately-held, leading lifestyle hospitality company that develops, manages and operates award-winning hotels, residences, restaurants and nightclubs. Through exclusive partnerships with cultural visionaries, sbe is devoted to creating extraordinary experiences throughout its proprietary brands with a commitment to authenticity, sophistication, mastery and innovation. Following the acquisition of Morgans Hotel Group, the pioneer of boutique lifestyle hotels, in partnership with Accor, sbe has an unparalleled global portfolio which will see 36 hotels and over 200 global world-renowned culinary, nightlife and entertainment venues by the end of 2020. The company is uniquely positioned to offer a complete lifestyle experience - from nightlife, food & beverage and entertainment to hotels and residences, and through its innovative customer loyalty and rewards program, The Code, as well as its award-winning international real estate development subsidiary, Dakota Development - all of which solidify sbe as the preeminent leader across hospitality. The company's established and upcoming hotel brands include SLS Hotel & Residences, Delano, Mondrian, The Redbury, Hyde Hotel & Residences, and The Originals. In addition, sbe has the following internationally acclaimed restaurants and lounges under subsidiary Disruptive Restaurant Group: Katsuya by Chef Katsuya Uechi, Umami Burger, Sam's Crispy, Cleo, Fi'lia, Carna by Dario Cecchini, Leynia and Diez y Seis by Chef José Icardi, Hyde Lounge, S Bar, Doheny Room, Skybar, Nightingale, Bond, and Privilege. To learn more, visit sbe.com.
Newest LA openings by sbe include S Bar Brentwood in January of 2020, located next to Katsuya Brentwood, and Sam's Crispy Chicken, which launched its delivery service just a few weeks ago, and Mondrian LA recently underwent a $19 million dollar full hotel renovation that had debuted Fall of 2019. Los Angeles venues/restaurants currently closed due to the circumstances include Cleo Hollywood + Third Street, Nightingale, Doheny Room, Hyde Sunset and Hyde Staples, while Katsuya locations and Umami Burger locations maintain open for delivery and curbside pick up.
Follow sbe for updates @sbecollection on instagram and at www.sbe.com
Photography by: Courtesy of sbe