WASHINGTON — A D.C.-area restaurateur is making plans to pull up his sleeves and cook meals for thousands of survivors and first responders in hurricane ravaged Houston.

Mark Bucher plans to head down to the Houston area in the coming days with cooking equipment, volunteers from his restaurants and lots and lots of burgers.

[related_gallery align=”right”]“It’s my nature to get in and help,” said Bucher, who is the co-owner of the restaurant Community in Bethesda. He’s also the co-founder of Medium Rare, which has locations in D.C. and Bethesda.

Bucher is no stranger to cooking for storm-weary people. In 2005, he went to Louisiana to prepare meals for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“Cooking for 20,000 or 100,000 or 200,000 people is a lot different than cooking for 100 or 1,000,” Bucher said.

His experience serving meals after Katrina puts him in a good position to efficiently get meals out to those in need, he said.

Bucher plans to donate two burgers for every burger sold this weekend at his restaurant Community in Bethesda. According to Bucher, he has already secured 40,000 pounds worth of beef, as well as ingredients for salads and other sides. The companies who supply food to his restaurants are helping provide it all.

Bucher hopes to head to the region this weekend.

“We’re just going to get in, set our stakes in the ground and start working to support everyone down there,” Bucher said.