East of Chicago grand opening to create blessing for Haiti
When Jeff and Tatiana Wilkins purchased both the Berlin and Millersburg East of Chicago Pizza restaurants this past summer, they wanted to make sweeping changes to both the look of the facilities and to the overall quality of the food. When they purchased them, little did they know that they would be making changes in a land as far away as Haiti, but that is exactly what will happen during the grand opening of the East of Chicago restaurant in Berlin, where the couple has graciously decided to donate 10 percent of all of its sales for both the Millersburg and Berlin restaurants between March 22 and 28 to Haiti relief."Since moving into the Berlin and Millersburg restaurants this past summer, we feel like we have been so accepted and blessed by the communities around us that we wanted to give back and get involved in a way that was meaningful," said Jeff Wilkins. "There is such a huge bond between the people of Holmes County and Haiti that we felt that would be a perfect place to get involved with some kind of mission-type outreach. The focus on Haiti has diminished some since the problems in Chile cropped up, but we know there is still a great need in Haiti, and we know that there are a number of local organizations here which have direct connections to the relief efforts there."
The Wilkinses will be donating to Care & Share and Haitian Relief and Missions, two local organizations in which they know that their money will undoubtedly go directly toward food, water and personal items for the Haitian people. They will also supply donation receptacles at both stores, for those wishing to add a donation to the cause.
Wilkins said that his family's desire to aid the struggling in Haiti coincides well with those of Holmes County people, and noted that the hopes and dreams of helping people there are in tune with the way people should reach out to others in times of trouble. He said that with Tatiana being a native of Guatemala, which has experienced its fair share of problems over the past decades, they understand the struggles of living in a Third World nation in calmer times, let alone when devastation hits.
"As as business person, it's not just a matter of taking the money then heading to the bank," said Wilkins. "We have to strive to do what is right. As part of the local business community, we are committed to the same things that the people of this county are committed to in helping others."
When the Wilkinses took over the two restaurants June 22 of last year, they vowed that they would step in and create something in which the community would be proud. Their initial changes have come in the Berlin restaurant, where they moved locations from the west side of town to their new site in the former Mast Pharmacy building on downtown Main Street. A completely renovated dining area has created a more regal look. The softer lighting, wall-lined tables and new pizza buffet complete with wings and subs on Sundays, has created a more genuinely enticing dining atmosphere. Factor into the equation that he has been adamant that his companies create higher quality, fresher pizzas with more toppings, and he believes it is a pizza restaurant franchise which may surprise many people.
"We went to great lengths to make this very different from your average East of Chicago place," said Wilkins, of the revamped Berlin store. "We tried to give it more of a Panera Bread feel in the way it is set up. We put the seating all around the outside wall, to give people a more isolated feeling. Our goal was to make our restaurants a place where people feel comfortable."
Wilkins said they firmly believe that they have a responsibility to the people of the community and to their employees to make their East of Chicago restaurants the very best, noting that they put a huge emphasis on making their employees feel valued and cared for, so that they in turn will make the customers feel that way. In addition, they have changed the way they make the pizzas, adding what he calls heaping topping to each pizza. They have also made keeping fresh pizza in the buffet a top priority, because, as he said, "Nobody wants to eat cold hard pizza."
Both restaurants are open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, until 10 p.m. on Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.