When a fire destroyed the retail complex that housed Blackbird and Heidi's in south Minneapolis, the restaurant community became rather fired up about it.
"Word got around pretty quickly, and our hearts sank," said Anoush Ansari of Hemisphere Restaurant Partners. "When we see something bad happen to a restaurant, we put ourselves in their place."
So Hemisphere and other local restaurateurs banded together for Fork the Fire to raise money for the restaurants and their employees -- and more than 80 local spots donated profits from last Sunday to the cause.
Mission, owned by Hemisphere Partners, hosted an event with food samplings from a dozen different culinary venues, including Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, the Edina Grill and Lurcat.
"We're not competitive here; we work from the heart," Ansari said.
Heidi and Stewart Woodman, owners of Heidi's, were there to show support.
"First there was chaos, then insurance," said Heidi Woodman. "We'll get through these changes."
Her husband noted that they are planning to reopen, possibly even this year. He was amazed by the outpouring of support. "I've never seen anything like this," he said.
