BackStoppers Month is back! Throughout the month of February when you dine at any St. Louis Shack Breakfast & Lunch, Corner Pub & Grill and Tavern Kitchen & Bar you will be presented the opportunity to purchase a BackStoppers Buck benefiting our mission.
The 2022 BackStoppers Month raised $159,000, bringing their grand total to over $1.5 million since 2007!
Co- Founder, Brant Baldanza, shares what ultimately motivated him to start the fundraising efforts in his restaurants, “In 2007, shortly after OG Hospitality Group opened our first restaurant, The Corner Pub and Grill, the Kirkwood City Hall shooting occurred. That horrific evening six people lost their lives, two of whom were Sgt. Biggs and Officer Ballman. The Blues Alumni immediately held a charity skate event benefiting BackStoppers in Kirkwood. The Corner Pub donated proceeds that day and hosted the “after skate”. At the end of the evening Corner Pub raised $7,500. During that very emotional day, Officer Ballman’s spouse, Cindy, approached us to say thank you. She wanted to let us know what it meant to her and her kids. The emotion on her face was clear, that she and her kids had been in enormous pain as they began grieving the loss of their family member, and one of our community’s fallen heroes. It blew me away that after a long day they still took the time to make sure we knew what that small act had done for them and other fallen heroes’ families. Right then we realized that if we can raise $7,500 in one day without a lot of effort, there was so much more we could do if we put our pedal down. Over the last 15 years I have stayed in contact with my now friend Cindy, and with the help of our incredible staff and generous community, our nine St. Louis Restaurants – Shack Breakfast & Lunch, Corner Pub & Grill, and The Tavern – we have been able to raise over $1.8 million for BackStoppers. OG Hospitality Group is proud to be part of the St Louis Community and BackStoppers. We will continue to support our fallen heroes’ families every year with our February Backstoppers Month.”
We have a tremendous community of supporters and our friends at OG Hospitality Group play a big role in helping our mission remain active. Thank you!