Nando’s Peri-Peri, which is planning to expand in Texas this year, will celebrate its South African roots and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, July 18, offering a three-hour window of free meals for customers donating supplies in under-served areas, the company said this week.
Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Nando’s, which has 50 restaurants in Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia that specialize in Portuguese flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken, said customers will receive free peri-peri chicken legs or breasts from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time for dropping off donations of supplies for under-served community schools.
July 18 is the birth date in 1918 of Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid activist and the country’s first Black head of state from 1994 to 1999. The Nelson Mandela Foundation created the Mandela Day Initiative. Nando’s has created a Mandela Day landing page on its website.
“Mandela Day holds a special place in our hearts, and we hope that Nando’s fans everywhere will embrace this iconic day of giving,” said Sepanta Bagherpour, Nando’s chief brand officer, in a statement. “So drop off school supplies for our local students in need and enjoy some delicious peri-peri flame-grilled chicken in the process.”
Nando’s opened its first Texas unit in summer 2022 and plans to open soon in the Village on the Parkway in Addison, Texas, near Dallas, and in Katy, Texas, near Houston.
Nando’s said employees (called Nandocas) will donate 67 minutes of volunteer time to cleaning and improving local schools in each community it serves as an honor to Mandela’s fight for social justice. Nando’s also will provide free meals to teachers at partner schools.
The first Nando’s restaurant opened in 1987 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since then, the Nando’s flame has spread to 24 countries on five continents.
Nando’s Peri-Peri made its U.S. debut in 2008 with the opening of its first location in Washington, D.C. Nando’s now operates nearly 50 restaurants in Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
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