22 hours Ago By Chris Chamberlain
It’s always great to see good people succeed, and the partners behind Noko — Jon Murray, Wilson Brannock and Junior Vo — are definitely good people. Not only are they riding high on the success of their two ( critically acclaimed ) restaurants, Noko and Kase x Noko , but they are accomplishing great things both inside and outside their restaurants. Giving back to the community is a core tenet at Noko, and that starts with the staff.
In addition to providing competitive pay and a four-day work week, ownership offers employees access to online therapist visits, a paid gym/yoga membership, health insurance and other employee betterment benefits like a novel travel reimbursement program that encourages and assists employees in broadening their perspectives through travel. East Nashville’s Noko Surpasses All Expectations With an exceptional Asian-inspired menu and great service, Noko leads with its heart This commitment to acting as a change agent when it comes to employee relations earned Noko a coveted segmen t on CBS Mornings ’ “The Dish ," a definite mark of achievement for both the restaurant and PR team. In the segment, Vo delights the CBS correspondent with his food and also impresses her with the restaurant’s dedication to creating a better work environment.
(See the full segment embedded at the bottom of this post.) Noko’s mission also includes giving back to the greater community, specifically to the Nashville Children’s Alliance . The local nonprofit provides assessment, counseling services and court support for Davidson County youth who have been victims of sexual abuse; Nashville Children's Alliance also provides child sexual abuse prevention training.
Noko contributes 1 percent of the restaurant’s profits to NCA and is the host of the Dine to Shine: Lighting the Night for Nashville's Children fundraising event, which is coming up Thursday night, April 3, at Saint Elle in Wedgewood-Houston. At the t ime of this writing, tickets are still available for the dinner , which will begin with a welcome reception at 5:30 p.m.
followed by a dinner and keynote presentation sharing the mission of the organization. When Noko reaches out for help in the chef community, chefs answer! In addition to food from the amazing kitchen staffs at Noko and Kase x Noko, they’ll be joined by more talent from Maiz de la Vida, Oak Steakhouse, International Market, O-Ku Sushi and Cafe Babu. The dinner will conclude with a ceremony honoring every (anonymous) young person who was served by NCA in the past year, followed by music and dancing to celebrate the accomplishments of 2024.
Even if you are unable to attend, you can still take part in a fundraising silent auction online . You’ll be bidding against the folks in attendance at Saint Elle, but maybe they’ll get distracted by the music and you can ace them out when the auction closes at 9:15 p.m.
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