Nearly six dozen restaurants join Night Out for Austin Tice, May 2

Nearly six dozen restaurants throughout the United States will participate in a “Night Out for Austin Tice” later this week, exceeding the expectations of National Press Club organizers.

The restaurants, which totaled 70 as of Sunday, have agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds from their May 2 operations to a fund that would augment the $1 million FBI reward for information that leads to the safe return of Tice, an award-winning journalist who was taken hostage in August 2012 while covering the civil war in Syria.

“We were sure in November that we would have two restaurants and were optimistic when we reached 20 in February," said Club Executive Director Bill McCarren. "Now to have 70 restaurants in more than a dozen states – we are ecstatic."

Participating restaurants can be found on the website Night Out for Austin Tice.

In addition to the Club, the Free Austin Tice Coalition includes The Washington Post, McClatchy, Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press and Georgetown University.

Tice was covering the civil war in Syria as a freelance reporter when he was taken hostage on Aug. 14, 2012. U.S. officials believe he is still being held in the country.

“The United States government believes that Austin Tice is still alive,” said Robert O’Brien, U.S Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, at a Club briefing in November that launched the Night Out initiative.

The money donated by participating restaurants will either add to the FBI reward or assist with Tice’s medical care and welfare if the reward funds are not deployed for his return.

“We want to find out where he is, and we want him to get out," McCarren said. "Money and awareness are the two ways we can get somewhere with that."

Tice contributed to the McClatchy team that won a George Polk Award for coverage of the Syrian civil war. He also has written for The Washington Post and CBS News.

Tice earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and had completed two years at the Georgetown University Law Center before departing for Syria. In addition to being a journalist, the Houston native has served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Issa Ammar, the manager of Jason's Deli in Houston, grew up in the same neighborhood as Tice and signed up immediately when he heard about the initiative.

“[I] always wanted to help but could never think of anything beyond praying," Ammar said, according to a Tweet from McCarren. "This is the first event like this. I jumped at the chance.”

The Club worked with Tice’s parents in consultation with the FBI to bring Night Out to fruition.

“The Tices decided that they wanted a different kind of help," McCarren said. "We met [their] conditions, and there was trust – so we began to operate on this."

The Club’s restaurants -- The Reliable Source and the Fourth Estate -- were initial participants, and renowned restaurateur Jose Andres, the owner of Zaytinya and other Washington establishments, came on board early, too. The event has been endorsed by the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, a national association of more than 1,000 women restaurant owners and chefs.

“Dozens of locations will mobilize hundreds of employees to feed thousands of people on May 2," McCarren said. "People around the world will have conversations and see stories and mobilize to end the unjust detention of a brave American. I could not be prouder of the efforts of the National Press Club."

The Tice family will be dining out at multiple restaurants in Houston on Thursday, he said.