A Time to Give
Posted by estiator at 13 December, at 07 : 01 AM Print
FEATURE
Restaurateurs come to the aid of the community.
By Constantine Kolitsas
On March 15, restaurants in the State of Connecticut got word from the office of Governor Ned Lamont that dining rooms would be closed as the state wrestled with an onslaught of COVID-19 cases. The executive order was issued in conjunction with similar orders from the governors of New York and New Jersey. Around the country, governors in other states would also issue orders as virus infections and hospitalizations would grow (or threaten to grow) to alarming proportions.
Like most restaurant owners, I wondered if the world was coming to a figurative end. I was in business just over four months and, having survived the first winter in a small New England town, was gearing up for the spring and summer, when the town typically swelled threefold with New Yorkers coming up to populate their lake houses. How would I function without a dining room?, I thought. Still, as I surveyed the situation around me (frontline hospital workers and first responders going into life-threatening situations with limited personal protective gear), the voice inside me told me I had to do something to help.
Two weeks into the closure, I was approached by a regular customer who wanted to supply a day’s worth of meals to two full staff shifts at the local hospital. When he first asked, I still wasn’t sure if the restaurant would be in business much longer, but there was that voice inside me… And so I committed to providing food for nearly 300 people at cost. A week later, on the day we served the meals, it was apparent to me that the restaurant would survive (my takeout and delivery business exploded and, together with a limited payroll, we were paying our bills without much stress), and so I informed him that I would be able to donate the meals entirely, at no cost whatsoever.
Dozens of trays of roasted chicken with lemon potatoes, penne ala vodka, and Tuscan salad were delivered to the hospital staff; meals that I hoped would provide nourishment and let the staff know that their community appreciated their sacrifice and courage. And when the people in the area learned about the donation, they came and supported the restaurant in even greater numbers, giving me the opportunity to continue to give back.
Of course, this act of giving was not unique among our community of Greek-American restaurant owners. From Long Island to Los Angeles, restaurateurs with Greek surnames have been providing meals and support throughout this health crisis, and as the economic impact affects their communities. Here are just a few of their stories…
J Restaurant/Bar, Hartford, Connecticut
J Restaurant/Bar began providing meals to Hartford Hospital in March, at the very beginning of the pandemic, says owner Jordan Dikegoros. His restaurant is directly across the street from the hospital, and is very close to the Connecticut Children’s Hospital, to which he also provided meals. Dikegoros says the hospitals contacted him and contracted him to sell them individually packaged meals (sandwich, pasta salad, water, and a cookie) on a regular basis, sometimes as many as 300 in a day. While an outright donation would have been financially overwhelming for any business, Dikegoros offered them at a deep discount as a way to show support for the work being done by the courageous front line hospital workers. And once word got out, he was approached by customers, corporations, and many of his city’s business leaders, all making donations to feed the hospital’s staff throughout the crisis. It got so busy that one day, says Dikegoros, his restaurant fed 1,500 people, all at the same time.
With the support of the community, Jordan Dikegoros of J Restaurant/Bar in Hartford, Connecticut, fed the workers at Hartford Hospital regularly throughout the pandemic.
What started as bagged lunches turned into much more, he says. Hot dinners such as penne ala vodka, chicken francaise, paella, eggplant parmigiana, and lasagna were among the many meals they served. “One day we even did hot dogs, to keep it fun and interesting. And they absolutely loved it.” According to Dikegoros, it was mostly the COVID units and ICUs being fed, as the hospitals were setting up more in their buildings as the crisis grew. As for the donations from the outside, Dikegoros says it’s something that happened on its own. “We never promoted it,” he says, “it just happened, and we just kept getting calls. And when people called the hospital wanting to do something for the staff, they would direct them to us.” Throughout the entire time, the restaurant subsidized the donations through deep discounts, even covering the cost when a donated amount was short of what was needed to feed the particular recipients. And in addition to feeding the hospital workers, meals were donated to the COVID testing centers. “We fed the testing centers every day for two months,” he says.
We donated lunches and dinners to some hospitals in the area,” says Hionis, as well as meals to the local police and fire departments.
Dikegoros says that J Restaurant is still providing meals to members of the hospital staff, “although not to the extent that was happening in the beginning.” And even if the food was sold at discount, the sheer volume was a boost for his business. “All of the donations kept us going during the most difficult time,” he says. As a result of their good works, the restaurant received a great deal of favorable media attention from newspapers, websites, and television stations. This, in turn, translated into support from the community, says a gratified Dikegoros, particularly as the restaurants opened up outdoor dining and, eventually, as the dining rooms were reopened.
Lamp Post Diner, Clemonton, New Jersey
For Nick Hionis, giving to the community is something that comes naturally. Like many of us, through the years, he has supported local youth sports and given to churches. So, when the pandemic hit, he knew he had to do something to assist his community when that assistance was most needed. “We donated lunches and dinners to some hospitals in the area,” says Hionis, as well as meals to the local police and fire departments. Those hospitals, Jefferson Hospital in Washington Township and Jefferson Hospital in Stratford, are local to two of Hionis’s diners, the Lamp Post Diner in Clemonton, and the Meadows Diner in Blackwood, all located in the southern part of New Jersey.
In all, Hionis donated meals three times from the Meadows and twice from the Lamp Post. And like J Restaurant in Hartford, Hionis subsidized meals to the local COVID testing site as well as to a facility for the elderly.
“We provided about 40 meals a day to the COVID testing site at cost,” he says. This went on for five days a week for two months. As for the elderly, Hionis provided approximately 500 meals over the course of six weeks; meals that included restaurant favorites such as chicken marsala, roast turkey, and stuffed flounder. “The way we operate,” he says, “is if we don’t support our community, they won’t support us. They’re the ones that keep our lights on. And when we do good things it gets reciprocated.”
Of course, giving shouldn’t be limited to times of crisis because, in truth, there are always people—friends and neighbors—who are in crisis. With this in mind, on the morning of December 25, my restaurant and I will continue in the spirit of giving as we team with a local cultural/historical venue and our town’s social services agency to serve a full holiday meal to families with young children that might not otherwise experience Christmas. My restaurant will provide the meals at no cost, while the venue will host the families and organize a toy drive so the children in attendance will get to open a few gifts. Santa Claus will make an appearance and some local musicians will sing Christmas carols. I did this many years ago, in another town, when I owned another business. In all honesty, the greatest gift is not the one I give, but, rather the one that I receive. Nothing feels better than to see the smile of gratitude on the faces of the children and their parents, and through this crisis, the smiles of the nurses and doctors who understand the respect, appreciation, and value we place on the work they do.
