White Oak restaurant donating Tuesday eat-in proceeds to servers - TribLIVE

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Thousands of restaurant servers like Kelly Matey lost a third of their wages and months worth of tips last year because of the state’s ban on indoor dining for almost three months in the spring and then again three more weeks over the busy Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

“It been terrible. You can’t really live on $113 a week” of unemployment compensation,” said Matey of West Mifflin, a server at Luciano’s Italian Brick Oven along Route 48 in White Oak.

But 2021 will start out better than 2020 ended because Matey and her 14 fellow servers at Luciano’s will be able to divide the proceeds from the sale of food and drinks from those eating in the restaurant Tuesday, thanks to the owner, Dan Pasquarelli. The governor’s ban against indoor dining, which he issued Dec. 12 in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, expires Monday morning.

Pasquarelli said he wanted to help compensate the servers for all they lost last year.

“They’ve destroyed families with this (ban on indoor dining). They (servers) took a big hit, and I wanted to help them out,” said Pasquarelli, who has owned the restaurant two miles from the North Huntingdon border since 1976.

From the server’s perspective, “it is very generous of him,” Matey said. He selected a typically busy day at the restaurant because spaghetti specials are on the menu on Tuesdays, said Matey, who started working at the restaurant 32 years ago.

Pasquarelli gave them the option of deciding how to divide the proceeds from Tuesday’s inside sales. They decided to donate 1% of the money they receive to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne, Matey said.

“I think our customers will be particularly generous with the servers,” said Pasquarelli, who also owns restaurants in Penn Township, Irwin and McCandless.

The latest shutdown killed the chances of servers getting nice tips from diners in a festive mood over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. About three-fourths of the servers are single mothers, Matey said.

“They’re impacting our livelihood,” Matey said.

That closure was in addition to the state’s prohibition against indoor dining in Allegheny County that began March 16 and continued through June 6.

“I don’t know why they had to shut us down,” Pasquarelli said.

Even when it reopened, there were limits on how many people could eat at the restaurant.

“Everyone’s had their hours cut,” Matey said.

The dining room is spacious enough to seat 280 people, Pasquarelli said. To follow the governor’s orders on reducing the capacity of indoor dining, Pasquarelli said he will have seating for 70, with social distancing. Restaurants that self-certify for following the Centers for Disease Control guidance can open at 50% capacity and those who do not are to operate at 25% capacity.

“Everyone’s at a loss,” Matey said. “There’s no wins for anybody.”

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252, jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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