Out of a restaurant's bankruptcy, came an unexpected gift

HAMPTON

The silverware wrapped in black napkins still sat on the tables Tuesday at the darkened Steak & Ale restaurant. Flowers decorated the restrooms and half-empty liquor bottles lined the bar.

In the kitchen, thousands of pounds of meat, dairy, produce and other food stuffed the freezers.

The S&A Restaurant group, the company that owns Steak & Ale and Bennigan's, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week - one day after Steak & Ale on Coliseum Drive received a truckload of food.

The events led to a decision to donate its usable food to Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula. On Tuesday morning, Foodbank employees loaded an estimated 50,000 pounds of food onto a refrigerated truck.

"We were shocked to get the call," said Loretta Jones, Foodbank's chief development officer.

She watched as Foodbank employees stacked containers of steaks, cheese, potatoes, green peppers, asparagus, onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery and other vegetables onto hand carts and wheeled them out to the truck.

The food, which would have cost about $100,000, would provide about a week of meals for children, senior citizens and the homeless, Jones said. The windfall was especially welcome at this time of year, when donations are typically slower, she said.

"So many people are going to benefit from this," Jones said.

The donation idea came from the corporate office of Peninsula Town Center, which is taking control of the Steak & Ale and the Bennigan's properties in Hampton.

"We're really excited to be giving back to some needy Peninsula residents and try to make lemonade out of the lemons we were dealt last week," she said.

The Foodbank loaded up all the lemons, limes, salt and pepper, bottles of ketchup, Grey Poupon mustard,

A.1. steak sauce and everything else they could, down to the forks, knives and plates.

"It's bad for them, but great for the community," Jones said.

Jim Washington, (757) 446-2536, jim.washington@pilotonline.com