Ris Lacoste, owner of the popular West End eatery Ris, is taking her New Year’s Resolution to the streets.
Lacoste wants to lose some pounds, so instead of asking friends, neighbors and foodie fans to come to her restaurant and eat lunch, she’s asking them to come to Ris and walk with her at noon, for 60 minutes, every day. “It’s the only way I’m going to fight the restaurant business and to fight my weight gain,” Lacoste told Yeas & Nays. “I have gained a lot of weight since I opened the restaurant and I know — it’s been a battle my whole life — that exercise is the only answer.”
Lacoste, who lost her own mother to heart disease in 2010, added a charitable component to the program, dubbed “Ris Walk 60,” as well. For every mile walked, Lacoste is asking her work-out buddies to donate $1 to the women’s heart program at the George Washington University Hospital. Folks embarking on the hour-long walk will trek about three miles. “We’ll ask everyone to put $3 into a bucket and we are hoping to walk 25,000 miles and raise $25,000 for the women’s heart [program],” she said. “And you don’t have to donate, it’s up to you.”
And for those who do want to spend some time over lunch eating, Lacoste’s restaurant offers a $25 pre-fixed three course lunch, with a changing theme each month. This month’s theme goes along with the health initiative and American Heart Month and is called, “I Heart Lunch,” with a menu made up of all heart-healthy foods.
“Ris Walk 60” launches at noon Wednesday.
