WASHINGTON — Renowned Chef José Andrés announced that all of his DC restaurants will be closing on Sunday night amid COVID-19 concerns.
Andrés took to Twitter to make his announcement on Sunday morning.
"We are doing this for the right reasons. We need to take care of our employees. We need to take care of our guests for their safety. More importantly, we need to take care of every one of you," Andrés said.
Several restaurants will transform their kitchens, of sorts, where people can take food home or be able to eat on a terrace near the restaurants. While it will still cost money, there will be reduced prices for a menu that has limited options. This will be offered from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Andrés said, "In this moment, loving each other means staying away from each other."
Back in January, Andrés' World Central Kitchen relief team went to Australia to help with the aftermath of the devastating wildfires. The team visited evacuation centers and affected communities while working with local chefs and organizations to prepare meals for delivery.
The team met with community members and neighbors impacted by the fires while they supported them as more areas were evacuated. His team also served over 3.6 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
In 2019, World Central Kitchen cooked and delivered five million meals. Andrés tweeted that in 2020, wherever there's a fight so that hungry people may eat, "we will be there."
Andrés formed World Central Kitchen in 2010. The nonprofit provides solutions to end hunger and poverty by using food to empower communities across the world.