Petaluma restaurants pitched in to feed evacuees
As I watched a dozen volunteers scurry around the large commercial kitchen at Preferred Sonoma Caterers at the crack of dawn Sunday morning, I could not have felt more proud of the place I call home. I was there to interview owner Amber Balshaw, but it came as no surprise to see Amber Driscoll, owner of Speakeasy in Petaluma and Fog’s Kitchen in Inverness, and Carolyn Williams, former owner of Bovine Bakery also leading the charge.
When it comes to big hearts, great food and organizational skills, these three are stalwarts. However, most important to the current effort, and to the character of our town, is their unhesitating dedication to our community. It is the people that make Petaluma great.
“I’m ‘Amber a.m.’ and she is ‘Amber p.m.’” said Balshaw, referring to her normal early morning shift and Driscoll’s late night schedule.
With that, she immediately turned my attention to the names of people who she thought really deserved to be mentioned. This has been the going theme throughout this adventure – the deeper someone is involved, the more finger pointing they do in an effort to draw attention to others that they believe deserve the credit.
As Mike Barber, owner of Barber Cellars, pointed out almost immediately after evacuees began arriving, “it would be easier to make a list of Petaluma people and places that aren’t participating in the relief efforts.”
Balshaw immediately mentioned that the person who should really get credit is Ken O’Donnell of McNear’s, who along with son and Seared co-owner Joe O’Donnell, have been providing hot meals to evacuees since day one.
Driscoll said the real hero is Miriam Donaldson of Wishbone. Another volunteer in Balshaw’s kitchen makes a point to tell me that Mark Malicki, out at the Casino Bar & Grill in Bodega has been providing meals to industry folks and volunteers all week.
And Brian Tatko points to Maguire’s, across the street from his Jamison’s Roaring Donkey donation center site, and says they deserve a pat on the back for all their hard work.
The effort to feed evacuees, volunteers, and first responders was immediate on the Monday morning after the fires started, although admittedly it was a bit disorganized. As soon as the Lucchesi Center opened its doors, food and drink started flowing in from Don Panchos, Simmer, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and just about every coffee place in town. Others, like McNear’s, Nopalito and Quinua offered free meals at their restaurants in order to make the fire victims feel welcome.
Having grown quite fond of Juan Gutierrez, owner of Quinua Cucina Peruana, for all his efforts here in Petaluma, my mom and I volunteered to help him serve lunch on Tuesday. Only a few people trickled in for his free lunch, so we pulled up a seat and ordered up lunch for ourselves.
It was phenomenal, as always, and we took great pleasure in immediately supporting someone who was reacting straight from the heart for a community that he has only lived in a short time, but has quickly fallen in love with.
Food providers quickly realized that they needed to get the food to the shelters, because most of the evacuees were not venturing out. This is when the Ambers stepped in and started coordinating meals for all the shelters around town.
“Brewsters and I were about to provide food on the same night for the same shelter,” Balshaw said. “That’s when we realized we needed to organize food prep and delivery. The response has been incredible with locals like McNear’s, Wishbone, Sax’s Joint, Sauced, Cucina, Brewsters, Drawing Board, Pizza Politana/Lunchette, Sally Tomatoes and Paella Del Rey really stepping up.”
Other names in Balshaw’s spreadsheet include folks from as far away as San Francisco, and include BBQ Rescue, Uma Casa, Castagna, Assalina, Andytown, Little Windows, Kokkari, Oren’s Kitchen, Chef Trace and Bay Laurel. When I posted to the Petaluma Foodies group on Facebook, the list of food support grew even more massive, and included Sarah’s Eats and Sweets, Lombardi’s Deli, Michael’s Sourdough, Brixx, Della Fattoria, Mi Pueblo, Ray’s Deli, Rustic Bakery, Traxx, Volpi’s, 101 North, Lagunitas, Slamburger, El Roy’s and The Bodega - CA. Bellyfull Dinners canceled their regular delivery schedule so they could help with evacuation centers.
Balshaw credits on-site chefs, like Terry Velasco, owner of Velasco’s Mexican Catering, for keeping the fires burning in the kitchen at the Veteran’s Building, which means one less location her team had to prep food for.
Balshaw also showed me her walk-in cold storage, which was piled high with donations from Petaluma Poultry, Cowgirl Creamery, Clover, Daily Acts, Palace of Fruit, Petaluma Bounty, Open Field Farms, Two Rock Pastures, Santa Rosa Meat and Poultry, just to name a few donors.
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