Generosity In a Crisis
Photo courtesy of Mari Isaac
Unable to pay rent, Chef Zahn of Zee’s Rooftop Cafe still gives back
Story by Lex Nelson
Photos courtesy of Mari Isaac
Chef Christopher Zahn is exhausted. Slumped at a table in his empty restaurant, he pulled out his smartphone to display a photo of a stack of paychecks.
“My paychecks have turned into Monopoly money. We can write the checks out but we can’t cash them,” he said.
Zahn’s restaurant, Zee’s Rooftop Cafe, is tucked into the Penthouse floor of downtown Boise’s C.W. Moore Plaza building. It’s only accessible by a single marked elevator and relies on hosting events and a breakfast and lunch crowd of office workers to pay rent.
COVID-19 crushed both revenue streams — but it couldn’t crush Zahn’s spirit. Despite those “Monopoly money” paychecks, the chef and his fiancée, Christina Williams, continued their mission to both make good food and give back to the community.
“We may not have a lot of money like some of the wealthy donors that some of these people get, but we have time and skills that can create money,” he said.
Pre-COVID, Zahn ran the nonprofit Corks 4 A Cure, which remodeled the homes of folks with disabilities to make them more accessible. That work is on pause, but the restaurant still gives back in other ways. Even the pandemic couldn't stop Zahn’s regular donations of at least 20 meals a week to the Ronald McDonald House.
Photos courtesy of Mari Isaac
“The human life is so fragile,” he said. “Years ago my stepfather got in a motorcycle wreck. He was in a coma for six months in a different city than my mom lived in, and she had to stay at a Ronald McDonald house for three months.”
Zahn also offers Zee’s as a free location for charity events. In 2021 alone, the time, event space, and meals he and Christina donated to nonprofits like the Women’s and Children’s Alliance and the Idaho Youth Ranch helped raise more than $100,000.
Photos courtesy of Mari Isaac
“We donated two dinners for 20 to Dress for Success last month, and those two dinners raised $9,000,” he said, ticking events off on his fingers. “... I was also the lead chef for the Idaho Food Bank’s Chef Affair, and we donated 120 meals to them.”
When we spoke in the empty restaurant, Zee’s was struggling to get by month-to-month. But mirroring Zahn’s giving, generous customers had kept the restaurant afloat.
“We probably had 20 people who just sent us checks, a couple hundred dollars, $500, $1,000, people who brought gift certificates for $1,000 and never came in,” he said.
The future for Zee’s is uncertain, but Zahn is still fighting. He recently launched his own line of spices, Chef Zee’s Northwest Mountain Spice Blend, and has no plans to slow his charity work.
To support the restaurant, he has a simple request: Please, if you can, stop by for lunch.
