Stina BYO, Philadelphia’s restaurant with a social mission, continues its new monthly Guest Chef Series and Charity Dinner that will benefit local non-profit organizations. After four sold-out charity dinners in a row, Stina is excited to continue their Guest Chef Charity Dinner Series with Chef Kurt Evans, Co-Founder of Down North Pizza. On Tuesday, April 26, 2022 from 4:00pm to 10:00pm, Stina is honored to open its kitchen to this special guest chef, who will work with Stina's owner Chef Bobby Saritsoglou on a delicious multi course, prix fixe menu. Twenty percent of the evening's sales are going to this month's beneficiary, Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity. Reservations are available on Resy. Stina is located at 1705 Snyder Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19145 in South Philadelphia.

"Kurt and I met when he popped in at Will BYOB where I was working at the time," said Saritsoglou. "Through a series of conversations we learned that we have connected in so many ways. Kurt's passion and drive to right the wrongs of this world combined with his talent in the kitchen are both impressive and inspiring. We are beyond honored to have him in our kitchen raising money for a worthy cause."

Chef Kurt Evans said, "I met Bobby at Will BYOB right before he was opening up Stina and we had talks about doing collaboration dinners. I instantly connected with Christina and Bobby for their love of using food as a vehicle to raise awareness and funds for causes have made our relationship special."

For the collaboration menu, April's menu will include the following dishes:

Grandmom Evans Rolls
Chicken Skin Butter
Mural City Cellars "CSW White"

Fried Grit Cake
Spring Succotash
Mural City Cellars "CSW Rose"

Shrimp Pilau
Louisiana Shrimp Gravy
Mural City Cellars "Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay"

BBQ Quail
Cornbread Stuffing . Peanuts . Spring Onions
Mural City Cellars "CSW Red"

Okra Coffee Cake
Candied Walnuts . Uncle Nearest Caramel
Mural City Cellars "Phinato"

Dinner reservations for this special menu are $85 dollars, plus optional wine pairing with Mural City Cellars Winery. Twenty percent of the evening's sales are going to this month's beneficiary, Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity.

For April, Stina welcomes celebrated Chef Kurt Evans, known for his work in the kitchen and in the community. Chef artist-activist and social entrepreneur, he was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He found a culinary spark cooking southern style dishes, alongside his grandmothers as a child. Since then, he's gone on to hone his skills in some of Philadelphia’s most esteemed kitchens. Evans has now cooked professionally for over 12 years and continues to learn innovative cooking techniques and creative recipes. He also uses his culinary skills to rally a community around ending mass incarceration. Through the EMI dinner series, Evans is bringing awareness to and garnering solutions for a pressing community issue. He is the Co Founder of Down North Pizza, a fair wage, equitable workplace for all its employees who have been formerly incarcerated. Evans received the prestigious honor of San Pellegrino Champion of Change 2021.

For the wine pairing, Stina will partner for this month with Mural City Cellars Winery. MCCW makes a few varietals each year with crops from local growers who live within a 300-mile radius of the city. They harvest the grapes by hand alongside the farmers, do manual punchdowns, hand-crush using a hydraulic basket press imported from Italy, hand-bottle, and work with local artists for the labels. The wines they produce, as well as a MCC-curated selection of Community Supported Winery (CSW) wines, are available in their tasting room and distributed hyper-locally.

For April's charity, Stina and Chefs will raise funds for Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, who works to uplift communities most affected by social justice inequities by providing assistance to neighborhood organizations and individuals who feel that their criminal record is blocking them from jobs, careers, education, credit, housing and other opportunities. Mass incarceration has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians having criminal records that hurt them, their families and neighborhoods for generations.

RESTAURANT WITH A SOCIAL MISSION

In addition to creating fresh delicious Mediterranean fare, Stina's mission is to highlight, support and donate to a different organization each month, who are making an impact in people's lives. Each month at least 1% of proceeds are donated to a cause of the month, and now with the new Guest Chef Series, Stina will also donate 20% of a day's sales to a different charity every month. To date they've been able to give away $10,000+ to 14 local organizations.

"We created Stina to express love for food, our culture, our community and each other...celebrate with us," said Chef Saritsoglou. "We are so happy to be able to do what we love, give back and help make our community a better place. We can't express how grateful we are!"

Since opening their doors, Stina has donated to the following organizations: SEAMAAC, Juntos, Women In Transition, Stephen Girard Elementary, Puentes De Salud, Philadelphia Bail Fund, West Passyunk Neighbors Association, Project Home, Books Through Bars, Unity In the Community, Punks With Lunch, Homies Helping Homies, Attic Youth Center, Lil Filmmakers and Empowering Cuts.

WINTER/EARLY SPRING HOURS

Stina is currently open the following hours:

Sunday CLOSED
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 4:00pm - 10:00pm
Wednesday 4:00pm - 10:00pm
Thursday 4:00pm - 10:00pm
Friday 4:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday 12:00pm - 10:00pm

For more information visit Stina online at www.StinaPizzeria.com, on Instagram @Stina_Pizzeria and on Facebook at Facebook.com/StinaPizzeria.

Chef Saritsoglou can be found at @chef_bobby_saritsoglou. Chef Kevin Yanaga can be found at @izakayabyyanaga @phillysushiwhisperer

Asian Arts Initiative can be found at @asianartsphilly and Sango Kura can be found at @sangokuradwg on social media.