ABOVE & BEYOND by Peter Roos
Restaurateur Steve Westphal says it’s been challenging for his businesses and his employees to get the assistance they need in a time of crisis. Steve, who owns Beach Drive’s 400 Beach, Parkshore Grill and The Annex, as well as The Hangar Restaurant and Cafe Gala in the Dali Museum, was so ready get his employees back to work when restaurants could reopen for outdoor seating and 25 percent indoor capacity. Westphal said he was ready to get employees back to work so that they could take care of their families and have income to survive. As restaurants were closed for dine-in guests, Westphal had shuttered 400 Beach and The Hangar to the public, feeding his employees and their families through 400 Beach while they waited for unemployment assistance and feeding the community through The Hangar, which has helped to prepare and distribute nearly 20,000 meals to families in need in St. Petersburg. Now that restaurants are reopening, Westphal’s establishments are taking every precaution to stay safe.
His employees are wearing face coverings, wearing gloves when serving food or picking up finished plates, and they’re sanitizing absolutely everything. In fact, Westphal says, his restaurants have reinvented everything with an eye on safety. “We have to get it right the first time… we don’t want to yo-yo effect,” he explains. Re-closures could prove even more damaging to an already ailing economy.
Beach residents Ebony Allen, and her husband Jason, were discussing the massive outbreak of Covid-19 in New York City and how overwhelmed the hospitals were. They felt for all the people affected and how dire the situation seemed to be. So Ebony, who is an RN, decided to go to NYC to work in a hospital and do what she could to help the sick and dying. She was there for four weeks from April 12th to May 10th. Her Facebook page, has a lot of photos and videos detailing her journey, including serenades by the fire trucks and various gestures of gratitude from the citizens of NYC. Jason was blown away by the nurses’ commitment and courage and wanted to share. www.facebook.com/elle919