PassionFish Donates to Children's Inn at NIH

BETHESDA, MD — This year’s annual "ComPassion" Golf Tournament to raise money for the Children's Inn at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda raised $36,000, according to a news release.

The $36,000 donation was presented Tuesday, July 26, at PassionFish Bethesda, 7187 Woodmont Ave. Every year, Passion Food Hospitality hosts the golf event.

The Children’s Inn at NIH is a residential “Place Like Home’’ for families with children participating in leading-edge research studies at the National Institutes of Health. Families stay at the inn for free as their children are treated.

The Inn is a private, nonprofit, family-centered hospital hospitality house located on the campus of the NIH.

The three partners of Passion Food, LLC -- Chef Jeff Tunks, David Wizenberg and Gus DiMillo – describe themselves as restaurant entrepreneurs. Passion Food was established in 1998 with their first restaurant, DC Coast; and now includes Acadiana, PassionFish, District Commons, Burger, Tap & Shake, Fuego Cocina y Tequileria and Penn Commons, according to the company website.

From the outset, the restaurants have been garnering outstanding reviews from publications including Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Esquire, Travel & Leisure, Wine Spectator and The Washington Post.

Wizenberg oversees the extensive, cuisine-specific wine programs of all three restaurants; DiMillo is responsible for service and marketing of the restaurant; and Tunks is the driving force behind the chef-driven cuisine at all of the restaurants.

All three partners have given their time and service to Taste of the Nation's Benefit for Share Our Strength, Food and Friends' Charity, the Humane Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Zoo's Zoofari, to name a few.

Those pictured at the donation ceremony from left to right in the large group photo are:

Kathy Arvis - Passion Food Hospitality, Director of Marketing

Boo Kim - Passion Food Hospitality, Director of Operations

Abby Case - Children's Inn at NIH, Assistant Annual Giving Director

Scott Clime - Passion Food Hospitality, Beverage & Purchasing Director

David Wizenberg - Passion Food Hospitality, Principal

Jennie Lucca - Children's Inn at NIH, ED

Jeff Tunks - Passion Food Hospitality, Chef/Principal

Julie Ofrecio - Children's Inn at NIH, Special Events Coordinator

Ryan McCarthy - Passion Food Hospitality, Director of Operations

»Photo of PassionFish Bethesda donation to the Children's Inn at NIH courtesy of simoneink PR