Search this site
Matching entries from Mudville Gazette
Jim Mayer Speaks...
... on CNN. Jim Mayer, the Vietnam veteran and friend of Fran O'Brien's co-owner Hal Koster who encouraged Hal to begin the free dinners for wounded troops was on CNN Last Night. (Video) It doesn't shed a very good light on the Hilton. Andi reports: While the email campaign didn't save the restaurant, it did let them know veterans and troops care a lot about this issue. The top three executives had to shut down their email addresses ... I'm...
Last Man Out...
...please turn out the lights. The Washington Post on the final Friday at Fran's:A fiercely beloved military tradition came to a close in downtown Washington last night when Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse reluctantly served its last thick steak with a side of laughter and dignity to soldiers recovering from war injuries in the area. But the veterans -- many of whom made their first, cautious forays in public with prosthetics, scars and skin grafts during the Friday night dinner tradition...
Fran's Countdown
Some interesting intel from Andi, who spent last Friday night at Fran's:I also met Ramona Joyce, an Army veteran and volunteer who is intimately familiar with the goings on at Fran O'Brien's. She and I had a long chat and I enjoyed talking to her. On this evening, she was more than perturbed with Brian Kelleher. According to Ramona, while the cameras were rolling, Brian Kelleher greeted the troops. So what? Well, she says that it was the first time...
Correction
The address provided by the Washington Post (and quoted here) for the Aleethia Foundation, the organization established to help raise funds to support the dinners for the wounded troops, was incorrect. Via emailThanks for spreading the word on Fran O'Brien's Steak House dilemma. I work at Fran O'Brien's and assist with the donations for the Friday Night Dinners for our wounded heroes. We would like to list the correct address for "The Aleethia Foundation" where charitable donations can be sent....
Transcending Politics at Fran O'Brien's
Don't miss the video. And here's Doonesbury on Fran O'Brien's last fall. (And today, too.) Day by Day on Fran's this week. And via Doonesbury, here's an interesting note found at savefrans.org:As a result of our listing the email addresses of the Hilton officials below these email addresses have been turned off (these addresses previously worked). Please send any message you care to send with "attention to" the officials listed below to the following email address: hhonors@hilton.comNice. It's worth taking...
MilBlog Conference
(Update/bump from 2006-04-21 20:02:04.) Too late for the party at Fran's - I hear it was packed. But today's the day! Join us online - details below.) If you're in the Washington DC area tonight, rumor has it you might find some well known milbloggers hoisting a few at Fran O'Brien's sometime around nine. Regretfully I'll not be among them, though I'll be there in spirit. And when the milblog conference kicks off tomorrow today you can "be there" with...
Fran's Legions
WASHINGTON, April 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The leader of the world's largest veterans organization expressed deep concern over the soon-to-be evicted restaurant that provides free steak dinners to severely wounded troops receiving care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center every Friday night. For more than two and a half years, the owners of Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse have been serving up steak dinners and libation to troops severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's...
The Battle for Fran's
Smash posts an email update from Buzz Patterson. This story is growing, and other players (including media) are gearing up for public and not-so-public action. Update: Smash says the Army might want to find another location for this year's ball. I think that's appropriate. Here's the web site for the Aleethia Foundation. As reported in The Washington Post:The owners of Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse in Northwest Washington have created a charity to help fund the Friday night steak dinners they...
The (Ongoing) Battle for Fran O'Brien's
Updates from our side and their side in the ongoing debacle. GM Brian Kelleher has answered the questions he wanted to answer over at Andi's. My questions, including this one: Can you imagine any segment of the American public that will support or applaud you for this? If so, who? were left unanswered. I suppose "stockholders" might have been a possibility, but given the fallout I doubt it. Anyhow, if he thought about the question my purpose was served. Do...
Fran O'Brien's Creates Charity For Soldiers
Via the Washington Post:The owners of Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse in Northwest Washington have created a charity to help fund the Friday night steak dinners they hold for wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The restaurant's lease at the Capital Hilton, at 16th and L streets NW, expires May 1. The dinners have become an institution among the soldiers recovering from severe injuries at the medical center. The gatherings act as a support group for the veterans, and...
Strictly Business?
Speculation at NRO:Scenario number one says Hilton is worried about a lawsuit. The hotel is in violation of Americans With Disabilities Act. Hilton has not made the basement restaurant ADA compliant — part of the lease negotiation was to have been for the replacement of a non-working escalator in the Hilton lobby with an ADA-compliant elevator. Since there were no negotiations, there is no elevator. The soldiers have been using a steep stairwell or the service elevator. Perhaps Hilton doesn't...
More Every Day Heroes
USA Weekend profiles some folks who may have once eaten at Fran O'Brien's:Staff Sergeant Ryan Kelly Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly was about to do so much good in Iraq. He was a civil affairs specialist, as well as a certified paramedic. His job was all about building up the country, making it better than ever. Take the water system in Ramadi, which dated back to the 1950s. It had deteriorated considerably over the decades. The Iraqis actually cut up old...
The Hanoi Hilton: Spreading the News (Updated)
(Updated/bumped from 2006-04-16 12:35:29) Chris Muir has authorized me to give you this sneak peek at tomorrow's Day by Day strip. CBS has picked up the Fran O'Brien's story:A two-year tradition for wounded war vets is about to go by the wayside. A downtown DC steak house that’s catered to injured troops every Friday night is about to close, reports CBS affiliate WUSA-TV correspondent Doug Buchanan. "We're not feeling very good about leaving and especially the Friday night dinner," O’Brien...
Fran O'Brien's in the Post
Noted here yesterday: ...if the Hilton thinks the attention will fade over the holiday weekend, they're in for a rude surprise. And today the Fran O'Brien's story has made the local papers - which in this case is the Washington Post"It looks like they're kicking us out," sighed Marty O'Brien, son of the late Redskins offensive lineman Fran O'Brien, before closing the restaurant yesterday afternoon for the Easter weekend. For the past 2 1/2 years, O'Brien and business partner Hal...
The Hilton Responds
(Updated/bumped from 2006-04-14 19:45:00) The Hilton says that after they kick Fran O'Brien's to the curb they hope the vets will still drop by:"The Capitol Hilton elected to terminate the lease, but that had absolutely nothing to do with the Friday night dinners," Lisa Cole, regional director of communications for Hilton, told WND. "It was strictly a business decision." The restaurant's lease, which was extended for six months last year, is set to expire as of May 1. Cole says...
The Battle Continues
Cassandra has a detailed post about Fran O'Brien's. She's a damn fine detailer. Hope they're ready for the 170+ hungry people who will wander over from the MilBlogs Conference just up the road....
Small Wars...
..in my part of the world today. Busy busy busy, perhaps more time later. In the meantime, Andi's World is the name of her blog, but Andi's world is the DC area. Look to her for updates on the Hilton/Fran O'Brien's saga. (And unfortunately, some tragic news from the Patriot Guard.) I'm getting CC'd on a number of emails sent to the folks at Hilton on this issue. Some examples (I've removed author's names):Dear Mr. O'Boyle, Yourself and your organization...
The Battle for Fran O'Brien's
I was about to call it a night, then I got an email from Buzz Patterson:Hello all, This past Friday night I was privileged to visit Fran O'Brien's steakhouse in the Capitol Hilton, Washington, DC. Every Friday night, Hal Koster, the restaurant manager and Vietnam Vet, invites our wounded soldiers convalescing at nearby Walter Reed Army Center to a free steak dinner and drinks. It was supposedly a "slow" night for our heroes as many were on a ski trip...
Feed Subscription
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a feed of all future entries matching 'fran o'brien's'. [What is this?]
