New Stella Artois Bottle Will Raise Money for Independent Restaurants

A portion of the proceeds will go to the James Beard Foundation's "Open for Good" fund.

Stella Artois aluminum "Open for Good" bottle
The aluminum "Open for Good" bottles | Courtesy of Stella Artois
The aluminum "Open for Good" bottles | Courtesy of Stella Artois

It goes without explaining that the food service industry has had a challenging several months. To help independent restaurants get back on their feet in the wake of COVID-19, the James Beard Foundation launched its "Open for Good" campaign—and it solicited some help to achieve its goal.

Stella Artois, Anheuser-Busch's beloved Belgian pilsner brand, just created a new "Open for Good" beer bottle that bears the famous Stella look but is made of aluminum rather than glass. A portion of every bottle sale—50 cents, to be exact—will go directly to James Beard's restaurant fund.

"Each [aluminum] bottle purchase will trigger a donation," explained an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson in an email, "with Stella Artois donating up to $600k to the James Bears Foundation this summer."

"Over the last year, our work with the James Beard Foundation has allowed us to support restaurants from the start of the pandemic. With the return to full capacity, we hope this new product offering can further support the industry to safely return to operating as we remember them," said Lara Krug, VP of marketing for Stella Artois, in a press release. "We’re excited to invite consumers to join us in our efforts to support their local eateries with a Stella in hand."

The "Open for Good" campaign was established to help community-oriented restaurants "survive this crisis, rebuild better, and thrive for the long term." It does so by providing critical resources, offering financial support, and mobilizing chefs to advocate for more diverse, equitable, and sustainable food policies.

The 14-ounce aluminum Stella bottles will be available in participating restaurants beginning Monday, June 7. If you're a restaurant owner who would like to carry the product, click here for more information.

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Kyler Alvord is a news writer at Thrillist. Find him on Twitter and Instagram. Or don't. It's really up to you.