pjnewman

Under new ownership as per their website. Hong Kong Pearl is taking over the space today.

There was a good number of articles in the Washington Post Weekend section (4\28) regarding Nationals Park including local restaurants, bars and what you are able to bring in on your own. I am sure that you can find the information online.

Just a side note. Nourish Now (based in Rockville) works with Levy Foods to recover all unused food from events at National's Park to distribute to local veteran's homes and homeless shelters. I am on the board of directors. Our annual fundraising gala will be at Avenel Country Club on June 10th.

I am VP on the board for a non-profit addressing food insecurity through food recovery (nourishnow.org). One of our board members is co-owner of a catering company based in Montgomery County. I contacted her regarding your needs and she would be happy to contact you. Her name is Laura Calderone with Relish Catering (relishcateringdc.com). If you message me your contact information, I will have her contact you directly. Paul

Our fundraiser on Friday was successful in that people enjoyed the experience and were able to learn more about providing food to families, veterans and seniors experiencing food insecurity. Although it was somewhat short circuited during the pandemic, food waste recovery will always be instrumental in achieving our goals. We thrive on volunteer participation. Whether it be a corporate teambuilding experience or an individual picking up food, you can do much more than you realize. Check out nourishnow.org We have now recovered over 15 million pounds of food that would have otherwise been wasted. Please contact me if you might be interested in helping. Paul Cell 301-717-7334

I originally posted information about this event in the news and media forum although the events forum might be a better location. Our organization addresses food insecurity while also addressing food waste. The event will be Friday, November 4th at VisArts in Rockville Town Center. I am Vice President of their Board of Directors in a completely voluntary capacity. Please visit our website, nouishnow.org for more information. Thanks for your help. Paul Newman

Our website now has the option of purchasing tickets for this event. Friday November 4th at VisArts in Rockville Town Center. As a major sponsor I do get some free tickets. Let me if you might be interested in attending. All contributes are appreciated. nourishnow.org

We have have a fundraiser (suspended for 3 years) scheduled at Visarts in Rockville Town Center on 11/4. We concentrate on food recovery in order to provide families with the food that they need. Please check our website nourishnow.org We feed up to 2,000 families a week who are experiencing food insecurity in Montgomery County and the District of Columbia. The district is directed mostly to retired veterans and senior living facilities. Let me know if you might be interested in participating. I checked our website this morning and the event was not advertised but that will change later today. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Contact me directly if you have any questions. Paul Newman

Their location in Rockville has closed.

Don - I am the board of directors for an organization called Nourish Now. We provide food for families experiencing food insecurity. I am not sure where to post this, but we have families lined up to receive food. Anyone should look at the website nourishnow.org. Please delete this message if you think it is inappropriate. Thanks for whatever help that you and our members might be able to offer. Call me if you want more information as this is important. Paul Newman Cell 301-717-7334 --- [It's absolutely not inappropriate, and this is why I opened the website back up - we used to do stuff like this all the time. DR]

Thanks for the update. My wife, Nancy, and I are in our early 60s and have been staying home (both retired). We might feel uncomfortable going out under current conditions.

Just to let everyone know, unsold food at Nationals Park is donated to Nourish Now (nourishnow.org) following any event there. It is then distributed to families in need in the District as well as Montgomery and Prince George's counties. I am on the board of directors for this organization and would be happy to meet with anyone interested in furthering our cause to prevent food insecurity. In the meantime, stay safe and you and your family be well. Paul

For real. We met at the bar of Grapeseed drinking half price bottles of excellent wine.

My wife, Nancy, and I are in. We had initially met at a DR event closing Grapeseed in Bethesda. Why do our meetings have to be so bittersweet?

Based on what I perceive as lukewarm interest, would propose that we plan for a spring event instead. It will give people more time to plan and we can make sure that we have more flexibility in choosing a date. Sorry that I thought about this too late in the game to really make it work.

I checked this morning and the available dates are: Sunday 8/4, Saturday 8/31, Sunday 9/1, Sunday 10/20, Saturday 10/26 and Sunday 10/27. 10/13 has now been reserved. Let me know if there is still any interest given the current availability. They are accepting reservations for next year through the middle of July at this point. That might be an option. Also, I could reserve my community center (although in Gaithersburg it is probably too far north for many would be participants).

Don I will check the schedule at Carderock later today and outline currently available dates. When I find out what is now available could you create a survey to see which dates work the best for everyone? This would allow the group to create a consensus on a date but also allow us to judge the general interest within the group to having a picnic at all. If a only limited of people are interested, it might better to have a get together at someone’s house or someone’s community club house instead . Let me know if you could help. --- [Yes, of course I'll do whatever people want. DR]

Looking further forward, the rest of September is booked and the first October date is the 13th, followed by the 20th, and the 26th and 27th. Obviously, I started on this endeavor a little later than I should have. Let me know if there is any interest in later dates.

Just looking at the Carderock website this morning, (last year’s picnic location) available dates are July 20, 21, August 4, 31, September 1. With the understanding that any of these dates could be taken at any time. Is there any interest?

Is anyone interested in attending a DR picnic this summer? I checked the Carderock website and it appears that there are still a few weekend days available. Post any interest and I would be happy to reserve (and pay for) the site. Paul

Is this gathering still being considered? Technically the first date in the poll is tonight but I did not see a confirmation for any date.

I selected the days that work for me +1 in the poll above. Dinners on the 18th, 19th, 24th and 25th would all be fine. If that doesn't work with the consensus we would be eager to get together another time.

We received the attached email outlining the effects that this has had on Fiola. In support we will be eating there with a reservation at 6:30 this Friday. If anyone else is doing the same ask to speak with the Newman party. On Saturday, September 29, 2018 9:35 AM, Fabio and Maria Trabocchi <rewards@c.pxsmail.com> wrote: Dear Friend of Fiola, As you may have heard, Fiola has been in the news lately and not in a particularly helpful way. On Monday night, a group of protesters found out that Senator Ted Cruz was at the restaurant for dinner. A large group entered the restaurant suddenly and were joined by others already inside the restaurant who may have been patrons or protesters in waiting. Together they surrounded the senator’s table and chanted slogans at him and his wife. They were politically motivated, loud, and disruptive. They were also potentially a danger not only to the senator but to our other customers and to our property and so, as is our policy, our managers called the police and eventually escorted the senator outside away from the protesters when it was safe to do so. We managed to hide him in the kitchen until the protesters left and he finished his dinner and left, thanking us for our hospitality. We have no idea how the protesters knew to come to Fiola to protest, but some in the media have suggested that we intentionally leaked his presence to the protesters. How insane to imagine we choose to host an attack in our own restaurant! As crazy as that idea is, the negative effects of the repetition of this false statement is unprecedented in our careers. We had to take down our social media temporarily because we received thousands of hateful comments. Our reservation lines are inundated with calls from people who are taunting our staff and threatening to destroy our restaurant. Maria and I have personally received death threats. We would have never thought such a thing was possible in the restaurant business. Fiola is being blamed simply for being the location for the attacks as if we ourselves were the attackers. While anyone may disagree with the politics of Senator Cruz or Senator Corey Booker or anyone else in the spotlight, we know you understand that we operate a restaurant in a city where politics is the main industry. We cannot stay open if we don’t welcome everyone regardless of party affiliation. We take our hospitality seriously and dole it out generously to all comers. Under difficult circumstances and without regard to who was being attacked, our staff did the best they could to handle a horrible situation that they, as hospitality professionals, were not prepared to handle and tried to offer the kind of care that any of you would like to be offered if you were in such a situation. As always, we are proud of our team. And we want to make it crystal clear that would never participate in or would condone a protest of anyone of any political stripe inside one of our restaurants. We are now living in the aftermath of this PR disaster. The restaurants will be getting security guards for the time being to avoid similar instances. We are re-training the staff at all our restaurants on what to do in the event this happens again. We are trying to run a restaurant that was besieged this week with the sort of vitriol that is the story of divided politics in America now. It will be challenging, but we are not afraid of working hard, and our entire team is committed to coming back even stronger. We will come back no matter what it takes. If you are receiving this email, you are a friend who comes to see us when you want a good meal and warm hospitality. You are a friend of Fiola, and we take that friendship very seriously too. As a friend of Fiola, you may ask what you can do to help. We are writing to explain what happened and with a request. Simply, please come to Fiola now and through the Fall and holiday season. Not to the neglect of our other restaurants but to come with friends to enjoy the original Fiola soon. As you know, our menus change daily and some amazing items are coming into season now. Please come celebrate the end of the rain (please!) with us, have a cocktail before heading to the Capital One Arena, or make jury duty less dreary by having a Presto lunch at the bar. We promise that Fiola is better than ever, and with your support we will emerge from this challenge quickly. Please contact our reservations team at reservations@fabiotrabocchi.com or visit www.fioladc.com, and we will welcome you with open arms. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for allowing us to serve you over the years. Our most fervent desire is to be able to continue to do so for many more, and so we ask that you come back soon and show us your support now when our staff could really use it. Sincerely, Fabio and Maria Trabocchi

I will be attending, bringing a selection of cheeses made at the Washington State University Creamery, my alma mater (the university but not specifically the creamery).

I looked at the website again today: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/carderock-recreation-area-pavilion/r/campsiteDetails.do?arvdate=07/21/2018&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=111899&siteId=401320&lengthOfStay= and it appears as if a number of dates are still available. Let me know if you would prefer that I book a date? Are Saturdays or Sundays preferable or does it matter? If you have already booked the site (July 29th has been reserved) than never mind. Paul