NWK Keeps Spirits Up at Pita Square

“We’re all trying to help each other. I’ve said it a million times: Without NWK, I would be totally shut down.”

Mike Eldib, owner

In mid-March, Mike Eldib couldn’t have imagined the pandemic — and the emptier streets of downtown Newark — would last so long. “I thought it was going to be two weeks, a month,” says Eldib.

The Paterson resident and restaurant industry veteran had always wanted to open his own eatery. Halsey Street, with its bustling mix of office workers and students, seemed like the perfect opportunity. He opened the doors to Pita Square in June 2019.

From the lunchtime rush to students enjoying late-night study fuel, he loved getting to know his customers. But just nine months later, by the end of April, he had to lay off all his employees, undoing the progress the new business had made. The number of orders coming in was “not enough even to pay the electricity bill,” let alone rent and all the other bills — none of which, he points out, have abated during the pandemic.

But Eldib is embracing his new customers, the recipients of the meals he has been making for Newark Working Kitchens. People have even called the restaurant to say how much they love the food, Eldib says proudly. “We get them the best quality,” making meals fresh every morning and making sure to rotate what he and his staff — he was able to hire back a handful of employees — were cooking. This way, people wouldn’t be getting the same foods every day, something Eldib says is “helpful to keep spirits up.”

And not just the spirits of those receiving the hundreds of meals Pita Square makes for NWK a day. Cooking for Newarkers in need, Eldib says, is a win for everyone. “We’re all trying to help each other. I’ve said it a million times: Without NWK, I would be totally shut down.” It’s a sentiment he’s heard from other restaurants in the community, too. Without the program, he estimates, at least 10 to 15 local restaurants would have already closed. “Not just for Pita Square, but for everybody, thank you guys!”

Thanks to NWK, McGovern’s Doors are Staying Open

“This is keeping the lights on, honestly. If we weren’t doing this, in terms of our bottom line, we’d be completely boarded up.”

Sean McGovern, third-generation co-owner

A Newark establishment since 1936, McGovern's Irish pub is a community hangout for NJIT and Rutgers students, police officers, firefighters, lawyers and doctors, according to owner Mike Nagle. 

While Newark has seen its share of struggles since the bar and restaurant opened its doors back in 1936, the coronavirus pandemic is one of the worst. Newark has led New Jersey in COVID-19 spread, and is likely to be one of the communities hit hardest economically, too. Small businesses, like McGovern’s and other independent restaurants, are especially vulnerable to permanent closure. “We just did a major 18-month renovation on the tavern and reopened this past November 1st. This pandemic hit and we had to lay off 75% of our staff,” said Nagle.

But McGovern’s isn’t closing its doors. “Thanks to Audible, Newark Working Kitchens, and World Central Kitchen that day never came.” Since April, McGovern’s has instead been cooking for Newarkers in need and frontline workers with Newark Working Kitchens. NWK disrupts the food relief model while also sustaining local gems like McGovern’s, one of 24 restaurants NWK commissions to cook meals each week. "Now we have a different purpose. It's making us come to work every day," Nagle told ABC7 New York. "It's been the savior of, pretty much, our business." The income has also made it possible for them to provide take-out orders to loyal customers, too.

Known as a place where patrons “get the feeling of becoming fast friends with your neighbors on the stools next to you,” McGovern’s stands with us as we reach out to and serve our neighbors during a time of great need.