Urban Crust, a wood-fired Italian pizza restaurant located in Historic Downtown Plano, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with its Grazie for Five Years Celebration benefiting North Texas Food Bank’s Food 4 Kids – Plano Initiative Sunday, July 27 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at its location at 1006 E. 15th St.
Residents of North Texas are invited to this free, celebratory event, hosted by owners Bonnie and Nathan Shea along with owner and Master Chef Salvatore Gisellu, that will benefit NTFB’s Food 4 Kids – Plano program, an innovative partnership with Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere and NTFB to provide chronically hungry children in Plano with a weekend backpack filled with shelf-stable, kid-friendly food. Guests will be encouraged to make a donation in exchange for raffle tickets for prizes throughout the event. Urban Crust will match a portion of proceeds collected that night to support NTFB.
Attendees will enjoy wood-fried pizza, adult beverages (for those 21 and up), and a live DJ in the restaurant’s upstairs 32 Degrees rooftop bar, featuring their refreshing signature Urban Crush, along with draft and frozen beer. Throughout the event, there will be a photographer on the red carpet for fun photo opportunities. Special guests include Plano dignitaries, Mayor LaRosiliere; mayor pro tem Lissa Smith; city manager Frank Turner; along with council members Pat Gallagher and Pat Miner. Members of the Texas Revolution Indoor/Arena Football team and dance squad will also be in attendance.
Guests who make a donation to the NTFB will be entered into the event’s raffle for a chance to win great prizes, including gift certificates to Urban Crust, season tickets for Texas Revolution’s 2015 season and other prize packs. The grand prize, to be given away at the end of the night, will be an Urban Crust Mobile Pizza Oven Soiree for 20 people at the location of the host’s choosing.
“For the past five years, we’ve seen Urban Crust flourish and thrive on the buzzing East 15th Street in Historic Downtown Plano,” Nathan Shea said. “Along with Chef Salvatore, Bonnie and I are excited to celebrate our love of pizza and to have chosen the North Texas Food Bank to help in our efforts of supporting the families in our community.”
The Sheas worked on the concept for a year before settling on an approachable artisan pizzeria, which opened in the summer of 2009. The heart of the bustling pizza eatery is a massive, wood-fired oven that crackles while cooking the creations of Chef Salvatore. His objective at Urban Crust is to create a menu that brings guests to Italy to get the same taste of pizza and experience as if they were visiting his home on the island of Sardinia themselves.
Colleen Brinkmann, NTFB chief philanthropy officer, will be in attendance to offer information about the Food 4 Kids – Plano program throughout the night.
“NTFB is thrilled to be a part of Urban Crust's fifth anniversary celebration,” Brinkmann said. “We are proud to have them join us in the fight against hunger in Plano, Collin County and North Texas. We hope this partnership will serve as a model for how small businesses can unite for a common goal to support social services, specifically children in need in our own neighborhoods.”
For more information about Urban Crust, please visit www.urbanrio.com, call 972-422-4466, or email info@urbanrio.com.
About Urban Crust
For diners looking for a restaurant that offers a fun night out with their family and friends, Urban Crust is a savory Italian experience not to be missed. The beautiful restaurant in Historic Downtown Plano centers around a custom-built wood-burning oven in an open kitchen, filling the restaurant with delicious notes of artisan-crafted pizza, as well as choice steaks and seafood dishes created by World Master Chef, Savatore Gisellu. The restaurant’s third floor features the 32 Degrees rooftop bar, pouring select draft and craft beer at 32 degrees and liquor shots at 5 degrees below freezing – a hit any day or night of the week. The restaurant and the rooftop ice bar are open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., with brunch served on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at www.urbancrust.com.
About North Texas Food Bank
The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a top-ranked nonprofit relief organization, and the largest non-profit organization in North Texas. The NTFB works to improve the quality of life in North Texas by eliminating the hunger gap. Today the Food Bank provides access to more than 175,000 meals per day to hungry children, seniors and families through a network of more than 1,000 feeding programs and 262 Partner Agencies in 13 counties. In fiscal year 2013, NTFB provided access to 62 million nutritious meals. NTFB is a member of Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization chaired by NTFB CEO Jan Pruitt (feedingamerica.org).
For additional information about NTFB please visit ntfb.org