The article below was originally published in The Richmond Times-Dispatch on 11/2/09. To view the original article, click here.

On a recent Wednesday night in Henrico County, about 50 teenagers packed into Grandpa Eddie's Alabama Ribs & BBQ to listen to some local bands jam.

Their parents, for the most part, sat in the back, noshing on fried okra and peanut-butter pie and watching from a safe distance.

"It was a really good night. The kids got a chance to perform in front of their friends," said Carey Friedman, who owns the restaurant on Three Chopt Road near Cox Road.

The three bands that played were from nearby Pocahontas Middle School. Friedman let the students use the sound system and then gave 10 percent of the proceeds to the school.

The evening is part of Grandpa Eddie's Spirit Day program. The restaurant has always offered the discount to teachers, but it is now expanding to help raise money for schools.

Friedman says he knows from experience how much help schools need. He was staff counsel in the House of Delegates for about 10 years and worked on budgets, and his wife was a schoolteacher for five years.

"With budgets tight at schools, we want to do everything we can to be an active member of the community and give back to our kids," he said.

Friedman started the restaurant in Goochland County in 2005. It moved to Henrico County in 2007, taking the space of the former Julian's Restaurant. He said he got his love for cooking -- and the name of the restaurant -- from his maternal grandfather, Eddie Schanzer.

For the Spirit Days, Grandpa Eddie's creates flyers for schools, which distribute them. Anyone coming in for a meal on the set date gets 10 percent of the tab donated to the school.

Grandpa Eddies also gives a 10 percent discount on gift cards on that day, which can be used at any time.

"It's a win-win for everyone," Friedman said.