On May 8, local golfers teed off to help fight hunger at the inaugural Mister A’s Golf Tournament. The charity event is a reimagining of the tourney hosted by owner John Alessio from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Local food and beverage vendors, including Mostra Coffee, The Wise Ox, Pure Project, Sushi on a Roll, and Fierce & Kind Spirits, were on hand at Coronado Golf Course to keep players fueled as they worked their way through the links.
Mister A’s Golf Tournament benefitted local hunger relief organization Community Plate Initiative and brought in enough to support the nonprofit’s weekly food distribution events for the year. The Bankers Hill restaurant has been among Community Plate Initiative’s biggest supporters and was introduced to the charity through its vice president, Robert Revell, who mans the grill at the iconic San Diego restaurant.
The nonprofit was started in 2020 by a few industry employees and their friends who wanted to do something good amid the early days of the pandemic when so many people were struggling. They prepared and distributed 80 meals to people experiencing homelessness. After its initial success, the group decided to make it a regular thing.
“We just never stopped,” says Antonio Torres, Community Plate Initiative president. Now, the group gives out free warm meals downtown every Wednesday and as many Thursdays as possible. The core members and volunteers cook each dish from scratch using healthy ingredients—they even list the recipes on their website.
“[Mister A’s] has helped us more than they even realize,” says Torres of their partnership with the restaurant. “As soon as we got our [nonprofit] status, they were more than willing to pitch in.”
