Posted on 04/01/2020 5:25:15 PM PDT by abb
CENTRAL, La. (WAFB) - There's always a line outside MePa's Diner in Central, especially since the governor ordered all restaurants to serve take-out only.
Melissa Dykes has been feeding families here for eight years. On the menu today, shrimp etouffee with salad and garlic bread.
The take-out line has been working well for Dykes and her crew. But since the governor’s order two weeks ago, they have changed the menu. They now offer family meals, enough food for a family of six with a price that’s hard to beat.
“It’s something I could [do] to help them not have to cook.” Dykes said.
Just phone ahead, and one of her staff will bring it out to your car. It's all she can do with her dining room closed to customers.
Unless you are Bill and Ruth Jordan.
"We come back every day." Bill laughed from behind a big hamburger. It's important. He and Ruth have eaten lunch here every day for the past two years. "I don't cook." Bill added.
But just being here, in this dining room is more important.
"She has dementia," Bill almost whispered.
Routine is important in Ruth's day. She wakes up at the same time, eats the same breakfast, and eats the same ham and cheese omelet at MePa's for lunch every day. And every day near the end of their meal, Dykes joins the couple for a Gospel song.
"It's important we do a lot of the same things," Bill said, "otherwise, she gets confused.
When the governor ordered all dining rooms closed, Dykes knew she could not lock Bill and Ruth out of her restaurant or her life.
Dykes and her staff make sure that every day when Bill and Ruth arrive, their table is ready, and there are no more than eight people in the restaurant to comply with the governor’s order.
"I said, 'we've got to take care of Bill and Ruth.'" Dykes said. "If it was my mother, I would want somebody to help. My mother is out in the parking lot right now, and I can't hug her. But I can do something for Miss Ruth. It's what my heart needed to do."
In tough times, a chef can feed a family of six at a price that is hard to beat, but it takes a friend like the staff at MePa’s to feed your soul.
That is the sweetest thing I have read all week.
Thanks for posting it today!
This is nice. I just hope this lady’s not as messed up as Uncle Joe. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Uncle Joe can keep it.
Come on, Mayor Garcetti, shut off their power and water like you threatened! Another tough guy
What a lovely thing to do.
I looooove a good crawfish etouffee.
The Cook made the right choice. I hope nobody gives her a hard time for showing a little compassion.
Somebody might say “What about me and my wife?”.
“This is nice. I just hope this lady’s not as messed up as Uncle Joe...:
I would much rather have Ruth Jordan as president than Joe Biden. At least Ruth wouldn’t have Valerie Jarrett pulling her strings.
“THIS RESTAURANT VIOLATED THE RULES!!! SHUT THEM DOWN!!”
In the article YOU posted it says they complied with the rules.
Mrs abb’s gumbos are nothing to sneeze at. I’ve done red beans and rice a few times. Purty damn good.
True!
In Louisiana no one is going to complain. A whole lot of the state would do the same.
Gumbo is food of the gods.
We have a very expensive restaurant near Sarasota Florida that started making meals for 4 to 6...at very fair prices.
Also they got in a lot of food, etc., and are selling ‘’ groceries’’ where people can order and pay over the phone and have everything put in the back of their car without having to touch anything or anyone.
His prices for this is much the same as the better supermarkets here.
This is a great service for all the older people who don’t want to go in grocery stores or can’t give what they need through delivery.
For those that live in the Sarasota-Bradenton area it’s in Lakewood Ranch.
Go here to see or order ...
PIER 22 I GROVE Online Grocery
https://fs6.formsite.com/ApKw1p/cys2zctnf9/index.html
Good for you! I shall put that place on my bucket list to visit when the hysteria ends.
That’s the other LA.
If you spend too much of your life focused on politics and the news, you could forget that America is full of heroes.
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