Restaurant provides Thanksgiving fare for FOP
GLENDOLDEN » 39 North Taproom & Grille owner Jim DiIulio Sr. partnered with Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 27 Thursday to provide working officers with a hot meal on Thanksgiving as a way to give them what he called a “semblance of normality” in a year that has offered anything but.
“We were just thinking about when they’re out there and you’re sitting at the table – what are they eating?” said DiIulio. “What’s their experience like on Thanksgiving day? We wanted to try to make it as nice as possible and with food, that’s the best way to do it.”
“They called us, they wanted to do something to help the cops and I said, ‘Let’s get something together,’” said FOP Vice President Chris Eiserman, handing out candy and Lodge 27 T-shirts to arriving officers, who he praised as some of the best in the state.
Eiserman said 39 North has been supportive of FOP events over the years and it is a place where officers feel welcome. The restaurant often collaborates with the lodge on events, but wanted to do something directly benefiting members this time, said Manager Nicole Blair.
The dinners include all of the standard Thanksgiving fare: Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and a slice of pie. Eiserman said he expected to serve between 35 and 40 meals to officers working in eight to 10 departments in the eastern part of the
county Thursday.
A 23-year police veteran, Eiserman said he has worked through many a Thanksgiving and knows what it’s like to be out on the street while families gather for the annual feast.
“Sometimes you can’t find a pizza shop or a Chinese place open on the holiday, so for them to get a hot meal means a lot,” he said. “These are our members, they’re our officers, it’s the least we can do to support them.”
Eiserman said his wife Lela, a nurse at CrozerChester Medical Center working with COVID-19 patients, was also among those pulling a 12-hour shift T hursday, so he brought their daughter with him to help out.
“(My wife) has to wear
the goggles, the mask, the hat, so she’s stressed out when she gets home, just like these guys, going to calls having to wear all this stuf f,” he said. “They’re out in the street every day, day in and day out, and in this anti-police environment, as much as a lot of people don’t like the police, the community came together and in this area they love the police.”
Blair said the restaurant usually does a breakfast buffet for the local rivalry football game between Interboro and Ridley high schools. But with the coronavirus pandemic putting the kibosh on that game this year, Blair and DiIulio began spitballing other ideas.
“We were thinking about feeding the day
guys, giving them a free meal since they’re not able to go home, and when they are its probably late and after dinner,” she said. “This way they have something to at least relax with the guys down at the station and have something hot to eat.”
“We try to give back as much as we can,” said DiIulio. “You gotta back the blue. They do a lot for us, while we’re sleeping, making sure the streets are safe, so we can’t thank them enough for everything that they ’ve done.”
“It might be a new tradition, we might need to keep up with it,” said Blair. She laughed, adding, “We’ll see how everybody likes the food and then we’ll go from there.”