For Chattanooga-area franchisees Jake Lund and Robby Coggin, community engagement is much more than serving wings. Friends and co-owners of a string of regional Jefferson’s restaurants across Northern Alabama and Georgia, Mr. Coggin and Mr. Lund have created and grown an educator outreach initiative that has provided more than $115,000 in meals to local educators during the 2025-26 school year. The Teachers Eat Free initiative was launched in 2023 through the Jefferson’s location in Dalton —and Mr.

Coggin and Mr. Lund haven’t looked back since. 

Offered on the first Tuesday of every month throughout the school year, Teachers Eat Free has welcomed teachers, custodians, bus drivers, administrators, and all other school staff to enjoy a free entrée at Coggin and Lund’s locations, including the Chattanooga-area Jefferson’s restaurants in Trenton, Ringgold, and Dalton. In total, seven of Mr. Coggin and Mr. Lund’s Alabama and Georgia locations participated. 

What began as a gesture of appreciation has grown into a recurring community tradition for teachers and restaurants alike. Over the last few years, these Jefferson’s locations have been joined by hundreds of educators on Teachers’ Tuesdays. 

"Our educators are carrying so much for our kids and communities," said Jefferson’s Chattanooga-area co-owner Mr. Lund. “As a local restaurant, we’re a hub for school events, graduation parties, and school sports teams dinners. We thought providing our educators with something consistent—like an on-the-house meal in the middle of a busy school week—was the right way for us to help out and hopefully lighten their load. We’re excited to keep finding ways to support the people who make our neighborhoods stronger.”

Neighborhood-specific campaigns like Teachers Eat Free reflect Jefferson’s brand-wide community-first philosophy, emphasizing a grassroots connection within each town the restaurant serves. Jefferson’s restaurants and their franchisees regularly partner with schools and nonprofits throughout the year, including a recent wrap-up of another initiative aimed at giving back to local educators: Jefferson’s Teacher of the Year award, which recognized one outstanding teacher from each Jefferson’s community. Winners were announced in celebration of National Teachers’ Day on May 5. 

Mr. Coggin and Mr. Lund’s locations will return their Teachers Eat Free program for the next academic school year, with free educator meals to kick off by early August with week-long free entrées to coincide with back-to-school preparations. 

“Restaurants play such an important role in bringing people together,” said Mr. Coggin. “For us, this program has been about showing up consistently for the educators who do so much for our communities.”