Fundraising to Replace my Stolen Food Truck

My name is Lamartine (Lamar) Alvarez, and I am raising money to support Chez Lama Haitian Cuisine. My food truck was stolen on Sunday, January 30th in Nashville. Without my food truck, I have lost my main source of income, but more importantly, I can’t do what I love - cooking and sharing my culture with people. Any donation no matter what amount is greatly appreciated. My family and I thank you so very much.

We hope to reopen our business as soon as possible. To do this, we need to raise $100,000. Thank you for your support!

Chez Lama Catering has been creating great meals and great memories since 2010. With your support, we will be able to get back up and running.

You can read more about Chez Lama down below or in the article in the Nashville Scene:

https://www.nashvillescene.com/food_drink/features/internashional-night-market-will-showcase-the-diversity-of-immigrant-owned-restaurants/article_294db60c-1b04-11ec-851f-e7499e6cd507.html

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For a little background on my journey with Chez Lama Haitian Cuisine, I came to the United States at the age of 13 from Haiti during the Haitian uprisings. I graduated high school in Miami and attended Florida A&M with a degree in landscape design. Despite my degree, I always had a passion for cooking. Since I was a boy growing up in Haiti, I loved cooking. My mom used to teach culinary school, and I I learned a lot assisting her during that time. She instilled in me this love of cuisine. Over the years, I developed my skills by preparing Haitian cuisine for various functions for example, the Haitian Cultural Club in Tallahassee, Florida.

My passion for cooking continued when I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2000. I started out serving the First Haitian Baptist church Catering Banquets. I catered many weddings and parties. Additionally, I have provided food every Sunday for Woodcock Baptist Church since 2005. From then on, I decided that I wanted to use my gift of cooking to present the best quality of food prepared with the freshest ingredients which culminated in creating a business.

I first started out my Haitian Cuisine business from my garage in 2010. After saving up enough money, I invested in a food truck in 2016, thus the first Haitian food truck in Nashville was born. As Executive Chef, I opened Chez Lama Catering, with a vision of creating the finest Haitian cuisine. Ever since then, Chez Lama Catering has been creating great meals and great memories for a long time. People could call Chez Lama catering, and we would take care of everything. With Chez Lama Catering, people didn’t need to worry about a thing. We took care of all the details, from preparation to clean-up. We fixed our prices up front, and we never charged hidden fees.

Our team of highly qualified professionals made any event a pleasure - from weddings to birthday parties, or anything in between. Chez Lama Catering was your best choice. Our attention to detail, experience, and reliability ensured that your event would be a smashing success.

Our food reflected our commitment to exceptional quality. All meals were prepared under the guidance of me, Chef Lamar, with a passion for perfection. We made it so that guests would be asking about our wonderful food for days to come. Our menu has been developed over the years, with new dishes being added regularly. We served traditional Haitian Cuisine, elegant, with a contemporary flair! Eating a Chez Lama Haitian Cuisine ensured that you were provided an experience that would keep you coming back for more.

We established ourselves not just in the Haitian community, but with community members in East Nashville and organizations like the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), one of our first big clients, Fooda, Asurion, and many more.

I took my time in preparing a menu that was unique and true to my Haitian culture while also incorporating American cuisines. My goal has been to step beyond the kitchen and create memorable experiences for people and share my culture through food. The people that came and conversed with me brought me a lot of joy and purpose in my work.

Without my food truck, I have lost my main source of income, but more importantly, I can’t do what I love - cooking and sharing my culture with people.

Any donation no matter what amount is greatly appreciated. My family and I thank you so very much.