Huey's makes large donation to Memphis Zoo | Arts & Culture

Huey's of Memphis is giving a big donation to the Memphis Zoo.

The burger restaurant will give $14,555.75 Wednesday morning.

The donation event will happen in the China exhibit at 11 a.m.

The gift is from two separate fundraisers Huey's Restaurants hold to support the Zoo each year.

The first, the Thomas Boggs Memorial Earthquake Open Golf Tournament, is named in memory of Thomas Boggs, the founder of Huey's, and a former Memphis Zoological Society Board President.

"My dad cared so much about the Zoo," said Huey's Special Projects Coordinator Samantha Boggs Dean.

"He reiterated to us to try and make what we have in Memphis better. The Zoo is one of those places."

Huey's raised $5,500 of the total from the golf tournament.

The remaining sum came from the annual "Frill Pick" contest, where Huey's patrons - at all six participating Memphis-area locations - could pay a dollar to guess how many toothpicks were in the ceiling.

"Huey's has supported every major project we've done," said Memphis Zoo Director of Development Michele Correia.

The gift will go toward the completion of the Zambezi River Hippo Camp exhibit.