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October 8, 2026
Charlotte bars serve pink drinks for charity
Sips For Support raises funds for women battling breast cancer with a month of creative cocktails
by Michelle Boudin
Jennifer Branham was just dropping off information at Limani, hoping the Phillips Place restaurant would sign on to Go Jen Go’s first-ever Sips For Support, when the conversation turned personal.
“The hostess let me know that her mom is currently in treatment for breast cancer, going through surgery and chemotherapy,” Branham says. “So even me just dropping off the information, there were powerful stories coming from people that work there, and they let me know they were touched that where they work was doing something to give back.”
Branham, Go Jen Go’s development director, launched Sips For Support this October. Through Oct. 31, 16 Charlotte-area bars, coffee shops and restaurants are serving a special pink drink, with a portion from each sale going to Go Jen Go, a nonprofit that helps local women fighting breast cancer pay their household bills.
“The thought behind Sips For Support was that it’s an easy win for local restaurants and a local nonprofit, while raising awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and reminding folks to get their mammogram and be up to date on all of their testing,” Branham says. “And a way for restaurants to give back that’s not a heavy lift. They get asked all the time to donate gift cards and donate food and time to local events, so we’re hoping this is an easier way for them to give back.”
The only requirement was that restaurants get creative and work the color pink into their drink. “They all had the creativity to come up with the cocktail, come up with the name, and then we went ahead and put them together on a website, social media campaign, blasted it out to our followers through our newsletter, and you can find the information hopefully on their bar tops and counters throughout Charlotte,” Branham says.
Limani is pouring a hibiscus gin sour; Osteria Luca is serving a cocktail made with dragon fruit syrup. CHNO Coffee created the Blossom, a pumpkin spice shaken espresso topped with pumpkin spice cold foam and rose powder.
“I think it was really fun for the bartenders and the owners and managers to get together and do something creative and different that maybe they wouldn’t have done for the fall,” Branham says. “And we’re really hoping that the pink color also stands out when somebody orders it.”
FS Food Group is offering a Pink Cherry Blossom Margarita at Little Mama’s and Mama Ricotta’s.
“Go Jen Go does so much for families across Charlotte facing breast cancer, and Sips for Support is an easy way for our guests to be part of that,” says Mary Wilson, beverage director for FS Food Group. “Our Pink Cherry Blossom Margarita is bright, a little floral and easy to love, and we’re thrilled every one poured this October helps a neighbor going through treatment.”
Each of NAPA’s locations is serving the Secret Garden, a gin cocktail.
“We have been supporters of Go Jen Go for years, so it was a no-brainer to participate in Sips for Support,” says Paula Conway, the co-owner of NAPA Restaurant Group. “We’re so grateful to the entire Go JenGo team for all they do for women going through treatment for breast cancer.”
Go Jen Go traces back to SouthPark mom and two-time Ironman Jen Pagani. In 2009, while nursing her second son, she felt something wasn’t quite right. Pagani, a personal trainer at the time, received a grim diagnosis, and doctors told her to put her affairs in order. Still, she fought breast cancer for seven years before she succumbed to the disease. During her treatment, she noticed that many women didn’t have the same built-in support system she did, and she wanted to help.
“She realized how much great support she had from the community and from her friends and family, but she met so many women who were not so fortunate and started giving out gift cards to them as she was chatting with them in the infusion room. Go Jen Go was born out of that need for helping others get through their treatment,” Branham explains.
Today, the nonprofit pays household bills like rent, gas and transportation for local breast cancer patients and their families while they’re in active treatment. Since its founding in 2009, Go Jen Go has helped more than 4,500 patients and granted more than $2.5 million in assistance, and Branham says the need keeps growing with more and more people looking for help.
“Currently, we’re supporting 117 families every month in the greater Charlotte area, with approximately $37,000 every month going out towards those household bills and everyday needs,” she says.
Go Jen Go already hosts one of the area’s biggest 5Ks every March, plus Cheers Jen Cheers each September, where attendees root on the Panthers at a brewery. With Sips For Support, the organization hopes to loop in the restaurant industry and reach more of the broader Charlotte community.
“We’ve done give-back nights and round-ups before, but this is the first combined effort across the restaurant scene, and we’re so grateful to have so many amazing teams participating and so many great drinks to offer,” Branham says.
Sips For Support runs through Oct. 31. Find the full list of participating spots and their drinks here.
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