Event to Raise Money for Fairfax County Arthritis Walk; Monday, March 31, 2008 at Austin Grill Springfield VA with 1/3 of Restaurant’s Sales Going to the Metropolitan Washington Chapter of the Arthritis Walk Foundation

The Fairfax County Arthritis Walk Committee and Metropolitan Washington Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation have joined together with D.C. Area Tex-Mex restaurant company Austin Grill to raise money to help fight for the prevention, control and cure of Arthritis.  There are an estimated 46 million people in the United States with over 830,000 people in the DC Metro area alone with some form of Arthritis-related diseases. 

On Monday, March 31, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. 33 percent of the sales at the company’s Springfield location will be donated to the Metropolitan Washington Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.  Austin Grill Springfield is located at 8430-A Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield, VA, located at the corner of Rolling Road and Old Keene Mill Road in the Old Keene Mill Shopping Center. Directions are available online at www.springfield.austingrill.com  or by calling (703) 644-3111.

About The Metropolitan Washington Arthritis Foundation Chapter
Metropolitan Washington Arthritis Foundation Chapter works to improve the lives of the over 830,000 people in the Washington DC metropolitan area through the prevention, control and cure of arthritis and related diseases.  Specifically the funds raised will help the Fairfax County Parks continue its “Water Aerobics” programs as well as provide support to the many programs which directly support critical arthritis research and vital community programs and services to improve the lives of people with arthritis across Fairfax County and the entire Metropolitan DC area.  More information on the Metropolitan Washington Chapter is available at http://www.arthritis.org/chapters/metropolitan-washington or by calling (202) 537-6800.

About Austin Grill
Austin Grill began as a single Tex-Mex restaurant in Washington, D.C. in 1998 and has since grown to seven locations across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Menu items are created from scratch each day - including more than 25 salsas, sauces and dressings using more than a dozen different chili peppers.

Owned by Herndon, Virginia-based Thompson Hospitality, one of the largest food service and restaurant companies in the country, Austin Grill has locations in Baltimore, Maryland; Bethesda, Maryland; Rockville, Maryland; Silver Spring, Maryland; Old Town Alexandria, Virginia; Springfield, Virginia; and on E Street in Washington, D.C.’s Penn Quarter, a block and half from Verizon Center.

Since 1995, Austin Grill has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity through its First Monday program, by donating 1/3 of dinner sales on the first Monday of each month to local non-profit organizations. For more information, visit the First Monday section of http://www.austingrill.com.