‘Good Morning America’ Helps Houston’s Dandelion Café Donate $15,000 to Help Victims of Hurricane Beryl

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A popular Houston restaurant got a big surprise from “Good Morning America” ​​Friday morning! All in an effort to help them get back on their feet after Hurricane Beryl.

Dandelion Café has been a friend of GMA since they appeared on the show last summer as part of GMA’s quest to find America’s Best Breakfast. The café faced off against fellow Houston staple The Breakfast Klub in a fried chicken and waffle competition, but Dandelion Café came out on top!

ABC News correspondent Mireya Villarreal was live at the cafe Friday to present homeowners with a big surprise to help them get back on their feet after the storm.

SEE ALSO: Dandelion Café Beats Breakfast Klub for Best Chicken and Waffles on ‘Good Morning America’

Hurricane Beryl struck Houston on July 8, causing the largest number of power outages in a single event in Houston’s history. The storm killed at least 13 people in Harris County, left 2.5 million people without power, and temporarily closed many small businesses, including the Dandelion Café.

The cafe was left without electricity, refrigeration and customers for nine days.

“We probably lost about $3,000 worth of product,” owner Sarah Lieberman said.

“We didn’t know when we were going to be able to go back to work. We didn’t know how long we were going to be out of work,” says employee Gigi Pierre.

After nine days of closure, employees found themselves without pay.

“It’s devastating. Our employees are one of the biggest reasons for our success,” said owner JC Ricks. “They come in every day, work as hard as we do, if not harder, and really help us realize a dream that we’ve had.”

“They’re like family at this point,” Lieberman said.

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Finally, this week, Dandelion Café reopened with a limited menu.

“It’s a relief to be open again and have people come back right away. It’s a return to normal,” Lieberman said. “We didn’t lose any of our employees, so it was a relief for us not to lose anyone either.”

During GMA’s appearance Friday, James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd and his wife Lindsay Brown — directors of the Southern Smoke Foundation — surprised Lieberman and Ricks with grants for their employees.

The Southern Smoke Foundation is a nonprofit organization that responds to events like Beryl’s to put money in the pockets of food and beverage workers who need it most.

CashApp also heard about Dandelion Dandelion Café’s story and wanted to help. They offered the owners an additional $10,000 to help them recover from this storm.

“This season has been very stressful for us. Every little bit helps. This is really amazing because it will help us take care of our employees,” Lieberman said.