Frank Jones and CJ Callahan compare notes. Jones reads off a color-coded Excel spreadsheet, while Callahan crosses out names in his notebook.
"I'm gonna go pick up stuff from him today," Jones says. "Three nice bottles of wine and a $100 gift card."
Tucked in a back booth of the Elk Public House, the two men are tracking donations pouring in for a fundraiser benefiting Jones and his family. In September, Jones' son, Derrick, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Even with insurance, the family was told expenses could range from $100,000 to $3 million.
Jones is a longtime sales rep for Charlie's Produce, handling 135 accounts across the region. He's known for going above and beyond for each of his clients. Now, leaders of Spokane's restaurant scene are going above and beyond for him.
Jones plays a major role in getting food on your plate at many of the restaurants in and around Spokane. If you've dined out in the past 16 years, chances are you can thank him for the veggies, fruits, spices and garnishes — anything that made the food taste good and look pretty.
"'I can't help you' [is] not in Frank's vocabulary," says Callahan, who met Jones when he started as a chef at Hogwash Whiskey Den. "He didn't screw up your invoice. He didn't bruise the basil. None of it's his fault. But he'll do anything to fix it."
On Sept. 5, a very bad thing happened. Derrick was alone upstairs in his new house. No one quite knows how, but Derrick fell headfirst out of the second-story window onto his driveway, lying there for hours until a passer-by found him. In the hospital, doctors found a tumor in Derrick's brain. He'd been complaining of headaches; doctors suspect the tumor triggered a seizure causing him to lose control and fall.
"He had his 24th birthday in Sacred Heart," Jones says.
When Callahan found out what happened, he immediately wanted to help. He imagined hosting a dinner where everything was donated, so that every dollar earned could go directly to the family's GoFundMe.
Lauren Blumenthal had only met Jones once. But when Callahan told her he was looking for a space to hold the fundraiser, she immediately suggested her restaurant Sorella in Kendall Yards.
"In my opinion, it was the very least I could do," Blumenthal says. "I didn't just get into the restaurant industry to have a restaurant. I did this to do whatever I could to contribute to the community... especially someone who is as well respected and loved in our food and beverage industry as Frank is."
Suddenly, Callahan had a restaurant. Next, he needed a meal.
When Austin Conklin started running Inland Pacific Kitchen, he was barely 23. He was talented, but the learning curve was steep.
"There was a lot of stuff that I just didn't know, in terms of ordering and cooking and menu planning," Conklin says. "But Frank was our produce rep, and he was so understanding. Like, I would mess up an order, or I forgot something, and he'd always just go out of his way to help me out."
Callahan told Conklin about the fundraiser, and Conklin immediately offered to cook. With ingredients donated by US Foods, Harbor Foodservice and Charlie's Produce, Conklin planned a menu of Italian comfort foods.
Callahan continued to ask everyone he could think of if they wanted to donate for the meal or the silent auction. So far, he's gathered gift cards, Zags and Mariners tickets, casino packages, and VIP concert passes — more than $20,000 in total.
It's personal, too. A bartender from Whistle Punk donated two pairs of Yeezys from his sneaker collection, and another at Volstead Act offered up his lucrative set of Blanton's Bourbon bottles. Countless people in the region have been touched by Jones' generosity.
Months ago, chef Kadra Evans was in her car in a parking lot placing an order for her restaurant Little Noodle when she was hit by another driver. While in the hospital, she got a call saying her order was a few items short, and her food wouldn't be delivered.
"When Frank heard that, he went and actually picked up my order from the competitors and put it in my restaurant," Evans says. "He makes you feel like you're the only account he has. It just speaks wonders about his character."
The fundraiser is now bigger than Callahan imagined. On Dec. 3, Sorella is hosting two meals for 60 people each with tickets at $75 each. For those unable to attend, the Jones' GoFundMe is still live.
"I sit up late at night and think about how I can't believe this is happening," Jones says. "First of all, I can't believe we're in this shitty situation. But then the people that have rallied around us — I'm blessed. I'm blessed to be on this earth with these people." ♦
Derrick's TBI Recovery Feast • Sun, Dec. 3 from 12-3 pm and 4-7 pm • $75 • Sorella • 1122 W. Summit Pkwy. • sorellaspokane.com Derrick's GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/derricks-traumatic-brain-injury-recovery
