Saving the penguins

Local barbecue eatery campaigns to raise awareness, funds to save Antarctic bird population

Thursday is World Biodiversity Day, an international day of awareness about the variety of life on the planet. Penguin Ed's Bar-B-Que in Fayetteville has announced a campaign to join the Center for Biological Diversity in a mission to save the species of penguins from extinction.

"More than half of the world's 19 penguin species are in danger of extinction since krill, the keystone of the Antarctic marine food chain, has declined by as much 80 percent since the 1970s over large areas of the southern ocean," states the center's website.

Conversation Corner

The penguin mascot began somewhat by chance, but the admiration of the Antarctic bird has been long-standing with owner Ed Knight.

The first penguin statue for the restaurant was made from paper-mache and was perched on top the food truck opened at Crossover Road and Mission Boulevard in Fayetteville in 1993.

Knight revered the penguins for their ability to come together to face harsh conditions, and the public adored the social and quirky animal. Ed’s Barbecue adopted a lifelong mascot, and customers began referring to the restaurant as Penguin Ed’s.

The Antarctic animal became a beacon for the restaurant as it grew, and the collection of penguins grew along with it. Customers began to bring Knight all sizes of penguin novelties. Today, the collection is in the running as the largest in the country.

The Center of Biological Diversity is dedicated to protecting animals and their environment.

Although several penguin species have been listed and protected under the endangered species act, the most iconic Antarctic bird, the emperor penguin, is still threatened.

"In parts of Antarctica where sea ice is rapidly disappearing, emperor penguins populations are declining or have been lost entirely. The emperor penguin colony featured in the film March of the Penguins has declined by more than 50 percent, and the Dion Island colony in the Antarctic Peninsula has disappeared. One recent study projected that nearly half of the world's emperor penguins may disappear by mid-century without drastic cuts in carbon pollution," as stated in a press release.

At the beginning of the year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "agreed to conduct a full scientific status review to determine if the emperor penguin should be protected under the Act."

In an effort to continue the protection of the penguin species, Penguin Ed's will start a fund-raising campaign. A secondary goal is to bolster the collection of penguin-related items to surpass the Guinness World Record.

"The aim is to have people come in and donate a penguin(-related item) at the store, in turn we will donate a dollar to that charity which will help to save the extinction of the species," general manager Bob Grant said.

The current record holder for the largest collection is in Germany with 11,062. The Penguin Ed's stores have about 3,000.

"Let's try and beat the world record as well as save the penguins," Grant said.

People that donate a penguin will be asked to fill out a form to share information about that particular penguin item, including how it was acquired. A photograph gallery of the penguin donations will be displayed in the stores and fun facts and information about penguins will be posted.

The campaign for saving and collecting penguins will continue through the end of the year.

The penguin campaign comes on the heals of another fundraiser for Tri-Cycle Farms and Seeds That Feed, which raised $1,000.

The program is currently operated at the Wedington Avenue location only. Called "Giving Squared," the fundraiser allows customers to have a portion of their purchase donated towards the charity. Guests just need to say "square it" when they paying and Penguin Ed's will contribute to the featured organization.

The next to partner with Penguin Ed's is The Art Experience Inc. and OMNI Youth Programs.

Penguin Ed's also hosts Spirit Nights where typically 15 percent of the proceeds after 3 p.m. on a certain day get donated to the school or team. Recent participants include St. Joseph's, Happy Hollow and the Fayetteville High School Soccer Team.

"They promote it through their school and we promote it through our store. We did Vandergriff and it was very big ... we got the penguin outside the school on the day of the spirit night," Grant said.

In addition to the charity work and fundraisers, there are also community functions held at the store. One of the most popular is poker night held at the Mission Boulevard on Mondays and at Wedington Drive on Thursdays.

For every dollar spent at the restaurant, those who want to participate will receive $100 worth of poker chips to play that night. Typically a crowd of 30-40 people gather, and prizes are awarded for first and second place.

"People come and play poker - it brings in a lot of people," owner Ed Knight said.

Additional fun targeted towards children includes a monthly coloring competition.

"The winner at the end of every month at each store wins a cookie cake. You can have a snickerdoodle or chocolate chip cookie," Grant said.

The cookie cakes can be ordered for $14.50 in any variety of Audrey's Cookies. They are baked-to-order and need to be ordered 24 hours in advance.

The bakery is located at the Mission Boulevard restaurant, where breakfast is served 7-11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. A full breakfast menu is offered, along with fresh-baked pastries and fresh-brewed fair-trade coffee.

The B&B location at 230 S. East Avenue has a covered patio and a deep fryer that adds fried pies, onion rings and battered pickles to the menu. The Wedington Avenue location offers additional house specialties and vegetarian options.

More information is available online at penguineds.com.

NAN Dining Guide Cover on 05/16/2014

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