Restaurant Owner Feeds Hospitality Workers Hit Hard By Pandemic

RIVERHEAD, NY — During the coronavirus pandemic uncertainty that left many in the restaurant hospitality industry crippled, unable to work or put food on their own tables at home, one Riverhead business owner decided to do all he could to extend a lifeline to those in desperate need.

The past months haven't been easy for Jerry Dicecco, owner and chef at Jerry & The Mermaid on East Main Street, but with sheer grit and innovation, he's managed to stay open in some form throughout the entire year, save one day at the start of the shutdown.

But Dicecco is acutely aware that he's been fortunate, that many of his colleagues and friends in the hospitality industry have been slammed, left struggling to survive. That's where the idea was born for The Mermaid Project, a plan he created to feed 50 local families for 10 weeks this winter.

Dicecco has teamed with the not-for-profit Branches of Long Island, a group of volunteers focused on community outreach, as well as many local Suffolk County small business owners who have stepped up to help.

"It's in a hospitality worker's blood to make you feel like family when you visit our place of business; let us all band together and give back to those workers in this time of need!" The Mermaid Project page said.

His goal is to raise $100,000 to feed 50 families per week for 10 weeks; if he doesn't hit the $100,000 mark, he'll feed fewer families but still for the full period, he said.

With the project launched just over a week ago and the website, this week, $20,000 has been raised so far.

Next month, Dicecco plans to put a Google doc on The Mermaid Project website, where people in the Suffolk County hospitality industry — including hotel, restaurant and catering hall workers, who are either unemployed or have had their hours cut drastically — can sign up.

Those people will receive trays of food — prepared by Dicecco and his staff — plus fresh produce, enough to serve a family of four or five for 10 weeks. The Mermaid Project will be able to stretch the amount of food it distributes by purchasing wholesale.

"People are definitely willing to help us so that we'll be able to spread the dollars and feed a lot of people," Dicecco said. "We're trying."

The pandemic reality has hit close to home, Dicecco said. He knows many restaurant owners who are operating takeout only, since the reduced 50 percent indoor dining capacity means that it doesn't make sense financially to pay front-of-the-house staff. And for those who are out of work, even the extra $300 doesn't do much for those scrambling to make ends meet.

"This is our little bit, to show that we care. To use all of our resources to do the right thing and help as many people as we can," Dicecco said.

Beyond the immediate objective, the goal is to shine a bright ray of hope during dark days. "There's been too much negative in the world during the last couple of months," he said. "I'm trying to do something positive. This is a much better way to start the new year."

From the start of the pandemic, Dicecco has found ways to give back. He closed for one day when dining in was no longer an option but his wife Dani-Marie encouraged him to keep going.

"She said, 'Jerry, you've got to get back to work, to feed people,'" he said.

During the first months of the pandemic, Dicecco helped feed 1,300 front-line hospital workers, he said.

Despite the struggle, Dicecco has remained open during the pandemic, a blessing for which he's grateful, he said.

"We just kept going," he said. "It wasn't a great year last year, but we kept our heads above water and we're still around to talk about it. For a restaurant, that's a success story."

Dicecco said he feels terrible for restaurants in New York City that have had to remain shuttered to indoor dining.

Still, the road has not been easy: At Jerry & The Mermaid, which is in a yellow zone, beyond 50 percent capacity, only four people are allowed at one table. That means for a family of five, which he has, Dicecco said the kids have to sit at one table and the parents at another.

He's also implemented a score of safety measures and reshaped his business model to meet ever-shifting pandemic protocols, Dicecco said.

"To run a restaurant, you have to be adaptable, and this pandemic has shown us that no matter what, we will adapt, change — survive. Everything about how my restaurant used to operate has been flipped upside down," he said.

And he does mean everything: from how credit cards are accepted to kitchen practices and how customer flow is handled in the eatery.

And with the changes, have come epiphanies, new practices that will be embraced moving forward, he said.

The bottom line is that diners need to feel safe, Dicecco said.

"It's a struggle, every day, but we want to make people happy and make them feel as comfortable as possible," he said.

The pandemic has had a silver lining, bringing out the best of small-town values as friends and neighbors bonded to help one another, Dicecco said.

"I've always wanted to donate and help others, but this took it to a new level," he said. "You just saw people in need and realized what you had. If you were more fortunate, you need to give back."

During the pandemic, with health care heroes doing so much, Dicecco prepared and delivered those meals to nurture those saving lives. That effort, which originally he paid for out of pocket, "snowballed," he said, with locals coming together to donate and help.

Now, with the focus on those struggling within his own industry, he said he has seen an outpouring of support from local businesses: Montauk Distilling Co. donated spirits, and Dicecco will sell a “mermaid mule” at the restaurant, with 20 percent of revenue donated to The Mermaid Project, he said.

In addition, Long Ireland Beer Co. will donate $1 for every pint sold; others stepping up include Montauk Brewing Co., the African-American Educational & Cultural Festival, the Long Island Cauliflower Association, U Gotta Dance, and U.S. Foods, among others, he said; a marketing company donated creation of the website. John Wesley Village donated $5,000 in an amazing act of generosity, he said.

Dicecco said he hopes the message of giving spreads far and wide. "I hope as a country we come together. There's been so much divide — let's all help each other and come out the other side of this."

When all the meals have been shared, by the beginning of April, Dicecco hopes the need will have dissipated as his friends and colleagues head back to work — with the bonds and connections forged lasting for years to come.

"It will be nice to have had an 'aha' moment, and then, hopefully, get back to reality and our normal lives," he said.

Others in the community thanked Dicecco for his caring heart: "He's doing God's work," said one Riverhead friend.

To donate to The Mermaid Project, click here.