When you recognize, only too well, the pain and damage that a forced shutdown can cause, you will do anything possible to ease that pain and stem the tide through damage control as best you can.
That is part of the driving force behind Nicole Railsback’s upcoming bid to keep the spotlight on restaurants, diners and cafes in Berrien County through the balance of the prohibition on indoor dining mandated by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services through at least January 15th.
Railsback, who owns and operates The RISE — Railsback Indoor Sports Expo — with her husband Cody, knows very well the frustration and fear of having your business closed down, having been impacted by earlier state mandated closures in the gym and fitness center realm.
All throughout the holiday season she has crafted ideas to help the community from adopting a local family at Thanksgiving and Christmas inviting dozens of donors to help that family with severe medical needs and beyond to enjoy some form of normalcy during the holidays, and later creating a Virtual 5K/10K event which she called The RISE – Railsback Indoor Sports Expo RISE Up to Sleigh Child Hunger & Abuse VIRTUAL 5K/10K. She raised money for that cause through registration fees and the sales of some colorful gear for those who took part in the event.
Not one to sit idly by when there is much to accomplish, Nicole has announced that starting January 1st and running through January 15th, she Cody Railsback, as RISE owners, will be picking one locally owned restaurant every single day to not only order take-out from, but to showcase on their own business’ Facebook page as well.
Rather than just quietly order those meals, she is asking for public input regarding their favorite Berrien County restaurant on a post at The RISE Facebook page. 
She posted, “BUT – we want to hear from YOU…” and added an invitation for readers to tag their favorite restaurant in the comments below her post, regardless of which meal that restaurant provides, “breakfast, lunch, dinner – nothing is off the table.” She tnen promises that if your restaurant nomination is chosen as one of their Top 15 Finalists, both you, as a provider of the restaurant name, and the restaurant you’ve nominated will be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card each.
Nicole writes, “With this contest and showcasing of locally owned restaurants, we hope to shed some light on new restaurants for those living in the community as well as starting off the new year with some fun!”
She concludes, “As always, thank you for your unwavering love and support for our local community! #TogetherWeRISE”
Nicole adds that the contest is only promoting locally owned, Berrien County restaurants at this time, and there will be two separate drawings one for the nominators and one for the nominees.
You can find the post and make your nominations at this link: https://www.facebook.com/railsbacksports
The RISE is no stranger to community support, as their ongoing efforts to help the less fortunate among us were a driving force behind their selection to the 2020 Class of the Moody on the Market Fifteen Under 15 Best Small Business Enterprises with 15 or fewer employees this fall.
