Local restaurant owners helped kids take a bite out of reading, and a taste of national success followed

The National Restaurant Association is recognizing the Anna Maria Oyster Bar for its charitable contributions.

The owners say Anna Maria Oyster Bar won the national Restaurant Neighbor Award, which is given to restaurants with “outstanding community service and involvement.”

Owner John Horne let the news slip during a recent author signing event in Bradenton for David Baldacci. But a formal announcement should come in early April, and Horne couldn’t be more excited to earn the recognition.

“This is the change we want to create,” Horne said. “Hopefully other businesses see this award and we become a sort of model for them.”

Last summer, Horne organized a “Dive Into Reading” program that aimed to increase literacy in students from local Title I schools. Each week, AMOB hosted about 25 students who worked with mentors to practice reading techniques.

Horne said 76 second- and third-graders were involved in the program, and by the end, they had read a collective 1,624 books.

Most kids took a while to warm up to their mentors, he said, but each of them wound up with a trustworthy role model.

“They were all shy and didn’t know what to expect at first,” Horne said. “We even had a few mentors come up and say, ‘I don’t know if my kid can read.’ But by the end of the week, they were running across the dining area to see their mentor.”

As part of the program, children also took books home, thanks to a partnership with Manatee County Libraries, and learned basic table manners and etiquette.

Amanda Horne, John’s wife, says they’re looking to expand the program this summer by partnering with the Manatee County School District. This time, the program will run at five locations instead of one.

“People think that problems like illiteracy are too big for them to solve alone,” Amanda Horne said. “My answer to that is if you help one person, then that’s a success.”

There are four national winners of the Restaurant Neighbor Award every year. The winners receive $5,000 to continue their charity efforts, according to the restaurant association’s website.

This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Local restaurant owners helped kids take a bite out of reading, and a taste of national success followed."