Catching a killer with food

When a restaurant owner is murdered, you better believe fellow restaurateurs will help hunt for the killer in any way they can — including serving meals.

Steve Buero, owner of Food 101 and Soho, is orchestrating a food-for-justice campaign to aid the investigation into the death of Sidelines Bar & Grill owner Barbara Kriewald and the maiming of manager-in-training Terry Kirby. The two were shot last month during a robbery at the north Fulton restaurant. Kriewald, a mother of two, was seven months pregnant. Kirby, who had just been hired, is paralyzed from the waist down.

Buero hopes to join ranks with restaurants that will donate a specific percent of one night’s proceeds to the search for Kriewald’s killer.

Separate funds have been set up for Kriewald’s two sons, for Kirby’s rehabilitation and for information leading to the arrest of the tall, thin, ski-masked man who shot Kirby and Kriewald March 7. The governor’s office has promised $8,000 to the cause, and a Macon restaurant owner has vowed to pay up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest, according to Mark Hendrickson, a friend of the Kriewalds.

Restaurant owners interested in joining the donation drive can contact Mark Hendrickson at 770-656-9965. Individuals can make donations to the reward fund at any Wachovia Bank, to the Kriewald children’s fund at any Charter Bank and to Kirby’s fund at any United Community Bank Metro.??