When trouble came to our community in the form of Covid-19, MaryBeth Hansen, owner of Nokomis’s Paradise Grill, knew just what to do. Gathering together her faithful Paradise Grill crew and tapping into her vast list of friends, MaryBeth began mustering the manpower and materials to start a major community feeding operation.
Every Friday since the pandemic hit, even those many Fridays when her restaurant was closed because of the shutdown, MaryBeth and her staff prepared hundreds of free chicken dinners for those in our community needing a good meal. They set up in the Paradise Grill parking lot through the spring and summer, and on those ‘free-meal’ Fridays the line sometimes felt like it was endless. Paradise Grill fed hundreds of area residents, no questions asked.
“During the worst of the crisis, we were giving away up to 1200 meals on a single Friday,” MaryBeth says. “It went down to just a few hundred meals toward the end of summer, but recently the number of families coming in for meals has started ticking up again.”
MaryBeth has been a great friend to Venice Lifestyle, and all of our community. Paradise Grill, a wonderful neighborhood hangout and bar & grill, has given so much back over the years, from toys for tots, to fundraiser car shows, music events, bake-offs and fishing tournaments, all aimed at supporting local people in need and nonprofit organizations.
“In times like these, our instinct is to give,” MaryBeth says. “So many have donated to the effort, there are so many deserving our thanks for making this possible.”
The meals are available for curbside pick-up between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and include a chicken breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and desert. On behalf of everyone in our area, Thank You MaryBeth and the whole team at Paradise Grill for all that you do!
Please call Paradise Grill to check the status of the Friday free meals.
1097 N. Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, 941.786.1524, ParadiseGrillFL.com