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 The meal
includes salad, dinner roll and dessert, of course. It is all high-quality restaurant food that the Guzzardo family has been famous for
producing for half a century.
The line of
cars outside the restaurant meanders all the way down the alley and
onto McLean Street waiting for their turn in front of the
restaurant's back door.
Nick Guzzardo,
a veteran of the delivery and carryout business at his family's
restaurant, frequently stops what he is doing to give directions to
someone who isn't quite sure where their delivery is supposed to go.
Smiling, as is everyone in the restaurant, Nick advises, "Don't worry,
this is organized chaos; we have it under control." And control the
volunteers do have, as meal after meal, car after car, pulls away
from the back door.
What makes this
event all the more inspiring than just another busy day at the
popular eatery is that today is Thanksgiving. The Guzzardo family is
donating their food and time. The employees are donating their time,
and the line of cars and vans waiting outside are all filled with
volunteers waiting for meals and addresses to deliver meals to area
shut-ins and those in need.
The Guzzardos
were too busy for that hour between 11 a.m. till just after noon to
talk about the day. John was carving meat, Frankie was making sure
deliveries were kept together, and Nick was everywhere making sure
everything kept flowing.
Although it was
very busy, there was no sense with anyone involved that this was a
chore. Everyone was enjoying the moment, engaged in a brotherhood, a
companionship of doing something on an important holiday to help
someone else find importance and thankfulness in the day as
well.
Those who had
volunteered to deliver meals were as varied as the vehicles they
drove. From many who are always involved in community events to
youngsters who couldn't have had their driver's licenses for long,
they waited in line for meals. A few stated they had made four or
five deliveries, and still they got in line again to make another.
Later, John
Guzzardo would gush, "Did you see that line of cars? Some of those
people I have never seen before in my life, but they came to help."
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 It was obvious
in John's voice and in his eyes that he was not only proud of all
his family, friends and employees, but also of the community the Guzzardos love so much.
When it neared
the end, Nick got on the phone to try to find the homes of a
half-dozen meals that weren't delivered due to problems with
addresses. For Nick, the job wasn't over till everyone on that list
had their Thanksgiving meal. When asked what the final total would
be for the day, Nick, who has inherited his father's smile, as well
as the heart of both of his parents, estimated 340 to 350 meals had
left the restaurant in the past hour.
As things wrapped up, John stopped
long enough to visit. He said this was the fifth year that the
restaurant had done this charitable event on Thanksgiving. "We have
been blessed," he said. "This is just an opportunity to do something for the
community."
Although for
the most part, the goal of getting the meals out was accomplished in
a few hours, there is more to preparing so many large, portioned
meals. John mentioned that employees spent four hours Wednesday evening
making pies, potatoes and other Thanksgiving goodies. Then Nick came
in at 6 a.m. to get the meats in the ovens so that everything
would be ready by 11 a.m.
Now it was time
to start washing the pots and pans and get the kitchen back in order
so that the Guzzardos and employees could spend a Thanksgiving
evening together with their families in a less hectic setting.
Still beaming,
John restated that his family has so much to be thankful for. This
community does as well. We can all include the Guzzardos on our
list.
[By
MIKE FAK]
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