FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2008

Contact: Moli Steinert
Direct Line: 415.296.8995

OPENHOUSE SUPPORTERS GET FIRST LOOK AT ORSON
Anticipated New Restaurant Opens Its Doors To Benefit Local Organization

San Francisco, CA – February 14, 2008 – When Sabrina Riddle and Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake fame, announced they would open the doors of their new restaurant to benefit a local organization, Bay Area food lovers were abuzz.

“We’re so excited to be doing this for openhouse” says Riddle, Falkner’s longtime partner. “It’s such a wonderful organization, and this benefit is a great way to introduce Orson to the San Francisco food scene.” Orson will officially begin taking reservations on OpenTable.com on February 26th, the same evening as the openhouse benefit.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, openhouse is working to develop San Francisco’s first residential housing complex designed to welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) seniors and their friends. With the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimous vote on January 17, 2008 to permit the organization’s new project to move forward, the organization expects to begin ground breaking in September of 2008.

Neil Sims, food lover and openhouse Board Member says, “The opportunity to get into Orson is quite a coup. My foodie friends are pulling out all the stops to try to get a seat at my table.” Orson’s pre-opening buzz has been impressive. Falkner’s appearances on shows like “Iron Chef” and “Top Chef”, along with her bestselling cookbook “Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake” have turned her into both a local, and national, celebrity. Orson, her latest venture, has been hotly anticipated since she and Riddle announced the concept late last year.

“As an agency, openhouse has accomplished so much in the ten years we’ve been serving our community” says Moli Steinert, Executive Director of openhouse, “what better place to celebrate with our friends and supporters than Orson?”

About openhouse – openhouse is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults stay connected to community. In addition to efforts to build new supportive housing that addresses the needs of our aging community at all income levels, openhouse offers an increasing variety of services, aging resources, programs, events, and outreach to LGBT seniors. www. openhouse-sf.org.

About Orson – At Orson, fine food and drink, art, design, music and more create a unique dining destination for the five senses. Orson is situated in a dramatic and sprawling historic warehouse reminiscent of those found in Europe and New York with a 30-seat bar in the round and both social and intimate dining spaces. Elizabeth’s ingredient focused menu features innovative shared plates, specialties from the wood fired oven, flirts with modern cooking techniques and ingredients served along with fresh inventive cocktails, unique and perfectly matched wines and of course desserts to die for. www.orsonsf.com.