Franklinton restaurants team up to offer free meals to kids

COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Restaurateurs feed people. There’s just something inside many of them that just fuels their drive to connect people with food to create joy.​

Opening a restaurant is no easy task. It is heavily dependent on capital and the margins are so slim, sometimes a chef’s knife’s edge doesn’t compare.​

That is why so many restaurants fail in so short a time when there isn’t a pandemic ravaging the planet. ​

When there is a worldwide health crisis raging, some would consider opening a place or expanding a business would be pure madness; but not Alex Emrich.​

Emrich is the owner of Street Thyme, a food truck operation that last month, just as the stay at home order was being put into place, was expanding into a brick and mortar location.​

“We were planning on doing it before this happened and since it was carry-out, it kind of made sense to open it,” said Emrich. “Just go ahead and do it, even though we weren’t really quite ready.”​

The bold decision wasn’t without its drawbacks. Emrich said they have had to deal with all of the same things other restaurants have had to during the economic shut down Ohio has faced, like how to pay staff and rent.

But so far, the business is surviving.​

And they are literally doing it next to another establishment by sharing space with Red Door BBQ, which is owned by Darrell Thornton.​

Chef Darrell, as he likes to be called, has been on the corner of South Cypress Avenue and West Town Street in Columbus’ Franklinton neighborhood for three years. He knows all too well how real the struggle is right now for restaurant owners.​

“I do have a few employees. Unfortunately, I did have to lay them off right now to keep me going, and to keep the restaurant going,” said Thornton.​

Closing the doors to a restaurant, even on a temporary basis, could be the death of an establishment. That’s because the cost to reopen a restaurant is cash intensive and not having that constant source of income from selling food can make that very difficult if loans or savings are unavailable.​

So it became clear to Thornton that he had to keep the walk-up window open so people didn’t think he was gone for good.​

While both Thornton’s and Emrich’s windows have been open, they have also had a front row seat to how the pandemic has hit the neighborhood.​

With schools closed now for over a month, they see neighborhood kids that may not be getting enough to eat.​

“A lot of kids are going without those meals they’re used to getting,” said Emrich.​

“To see that right now, and it’s just because of a pandemic, of something that’s out of your control, it’s kind of hurtful,” said Thornton.​

Thornton knows what it’s like to be hungry or to go without. Growing up in Youngstown, he found himself in the same situation sometimes.

“That was me at one point in time,” said Thornton.​

With both men wanting to make sure no kids went hungry in their Franklinton neighborhood, they decided to offer free meals to children.​

“I think DJ and I have both been in situations where people have given us things and helped us out, so it’s kind of just a way to give back,” said Emrich.​

Emrich says he was inspired by his grandfather.

“It just stems from something that my grandpa always did, would give food out to the homeless, called him the bread man,” he said.​

Putting their heads and their wallets together, the two restaurateurs, one selling BBQ, the other gourmet burgers, came up with a plan.​

“We just kind of decided we could step in and help provide a little bit of cushion there for some people,” said Emrich.​

“$100 to be able to feed about 80 kids, that’s doable,” said Thornton.​

So a case of all-beef hot dogs and supplies for a fresh salad later, and the two had everything they needed to feed kids in the neighborhood.​

Getting them into the hands of children is easy. The kids just need to be present with the parent or guardian to get the meal. They won’t let an adult show up and ask for a number of meals to take home because they don’t know if the person really has that many kids, and this effort is meant to help the children.​

In the meantime, both establishments continue to sell food to adults. It’s part of what helps pay for the effort to feed the children. ​

Emrich said he will be teaming up with Make a Day and they are hammering out details to try and feed a bunch of kids on the weekends.​

His concern is that kids that are able to get lunches during the week may be missing them on the weekends. They are trying to get permission to set up at Starling Elementary and hand out hundreds of meals.​

He is hoping to do this in a few weeks as a test run, and if it does well, may expand it across the city.