CORNER BROOK, N.L. —
Saltwire Network
As two Corner Brook business owners work through the COVID-19 pandemic they’re also using their businesses to help feed others.
Steve Zahanov, co-owner of Sorrento on Park Street, and Greg Price, owner of Mr. Wilsons Convenience and Takeout on Humber Road, are providing food, for free, to essential workers and people in need.
About a year and half ago, Zahanov started offering a discount to health-care workers on Mondays. He and his wife just had a baby and the experience of being in the hospital and the things they saw left an impression on them.
So, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the province, Zahanov questioned how they could help the community. The result was a project to feed essential workers in the city by offering them free meals.
Zahanov started by offering meals up to a value of $250 per week and that has now grown to $500 a week as other local businesses come on board to help.
“The demand is so high.”
And Zahanov has a broad range when it comes to classifying who is essential. It’s not just health-care workers, he said.
“If you’re at the grocery store, you’re essential, if you’re at the gas station, you’re essential. Basically, if you’ve got to work through this you’re an essential worker in our eyes.”
Zahanov has a bulletin board set up in the takeout at Sorrento and as donations come in cards with a value of about $17 are posted. When someone calls looking for a meal a card is pulled from the board and the order filled.
On Tuesday, April 28, the restaurant sent out 38 meals and last Tuesday there was a waitlist. Zahanov said it can be tough to balance because he doesn’t want to say no to anyone, but the $500 only goes so far.
“It has been good for our community,” he said. “It really brightens up people’s days.”
As a family business, Zahanov said community is important.
“We wouldn’t have our business and our restaurant without the support of our community.”
The effort has also been good for the restaurant which has seen about an 80 per cent decrease in sales since closing the dine-in portion of the restaurant.
“It is a creative way to get some food out there.”
Zahanov said he has a full-time worker and two who will soon be working full time helping get the meals out.
“So, we’re getting people back to work,” he said.
Zahanov said the wage subsidy being offered by the federal government is going to keep a lot of businesses alive, and the tax vacation offered by the city is also a help as the bills still come in whether or not businesses are open.
Zahanov plans to keep the free meals going for as long as he can because this “weird situation” is not going to end for a while. He’s not soliciting help from other businesses because he knows they are feeling the pinch, but if any want to help, they just need to call the restaurant.
Over at Mr. Wilson’s Price is a few weeks into providing free meals to people in need and said he can’t give up now.
“At this point I feel it would be irresponsible to give it up.”
Seeing the reaction from people who receive the food and those who help provide it only strengthens his resolve.
“I feel we’ve got a responsibility to continue.”
With his vending business shut down and the takeout at the store not yet open for the season, Price “had a chunk of time” on his hands and just decided one day to offer some food to those in need.
“We never really had any long-term intentions or goals at the time,” he said.
“It was more of a whim at the beginning, something to try and see how it went over, and now it’s become a major undertaking.”
It started out self-funded, but as it grew other local businesses came on board to sponsor meals and community organizations and churches that normally host free meals have also provided some help.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of support,” said Price.
To point where the store is able to offer meals three days a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Price said they put out 100 to 125 meals at a time. On Monday, April 27 they provided 144 burgers and a family donated 24 slices of pizza for a total of 164 meals.
The food is either prepared in the commercial kitchen at the takeout or brought in by sponsors. People can pick up the food from a fridge in the convenience store or call the store to place a delivery order before 4 p.m. each day.
Based on the feedback he’s been getting Price said the food is going where it’s needed.
“There’s all kinds of people who could use it for one reason or another, but we really don’t know who is in need,” said Price.
Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
@western_star
