Italian Hall facing funding shortfall.
Dominion Italian Hall’s inability to host dinners leads to funding shortfall
DOMINION — A popular question in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality for the past three months has been, "Where's the chicken?”
"We're getting a large amount of calls asking when we're going to have a chicken supper,” said Frank Canova, president of the Dominion Italian Hall.
Members of the Italian Hall are well known for their chicken dinners which are served in the 200-seat hall and are always sold-out.
“The food is excellently prepared, like with a mother's care,” said Vallie Scattolon, vice-president of the hall executive.
“Also, we give you all you can eat. We don't just give you a dinner.”
The hall hosts from four to six chicken dinners a year. They never advertise and always sell out.
Scattolon said the chicken recipe was handed down by the early settlers using spices brought over from Italy.
“It's the Chinese custom, the Greek custom, the Polish custom, Italian custom ... spices they prefer for a certain thing,” Scattolon said.
The recipe has continued to be passed down to the next generation of members.
Their "secret" potatoes are also part of the dinner.
“The drippings are mixed in with the potatoes,” he said. “That's the spices that was on the chicken.”
Another reason for the popularity is the "extra helpings." Volunteers circulate throughout the evening replenishing the coleslaw and potatoes.
“We also come around with the chicken twice,” Scattolon added.
The electric masher is never used. The members prefer to hand mash the potatoes. Everything is homemade.
“There's no machines or saws, nothing electric that cuts anything,” Scattolon said. “It takes more than 100 chickens for the dinners.”
Canova said the chicken dinner is not only the major source of funding for the hall, but it is also how money is raised for local charities and organizations. The money helps many charities including the Glace Bay Hospital Foundation, safe grad and the Darrell Flynn Memorial Scholarship fund, to name a few.
All that fundraising is on hold right now due to the public health restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upwards of 20 volunteers gather in the kitchen to prepare the dinners.
“Think about the close proximity in the kitchen,” Canova said. “It would be too difficult to social distance.”
The lack of space in the kitchen also means that takeout chicken dinners are not possible and he doesn't think the members — who are mostly seniors — wouldn't be interested in returning to the kitchen at this time.
“It would be too scary for them. As a result, the hall doesn't have any source of revenue right now.”
Canova said they are hoping they will access some assistance down the line.
“We have a few dollars to pay our current bills but a couple of months down the road we won't.”
Even before COVID-19 protocols hit Nova Scotia in mid-March, the members had cancelled upcoming functions.
“We were really scared,” Canova said. “(The pandemic in) Italy was really bad at the time. We were being proactive. We felt good about it.”
At the time, the members thought it would be short term, like everyone else, they had no idea Nova Scotia would soon be in a state of emergency.
“Once we cancelled, it was only a few days later there were provincewide restrictions and things began to close up,” Canova added.
Weddings and other events previously booked have cancelled,” he said. “Most of our bookings now are for next year.”
The Nova Scotia government has introduced numerous programs to help non-profits.
According to Tracey Barron, a spokesperson for the Department of Business, through the Small Business Reopening and Support grant, eligible small businesses, non-profits, charities and social enterprises working in some of the most affected sectors, can receive a grant of up to $5,000 and a Business Continuity Voucher for up to $1,500 for advice and support.
However it's not just COVID-19 affecting the hall. The hall is also in dire need of repairs including a new roof.
“We are forever patching it,” Scattolon said. ”It needs to be replaced.
The hall executive has reached out to Glace Bay MLA Geoff MacLellan for help.
MacLellan said he is aware of the request for the repairs to the Italian Hall and is working on it through Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister Leo Glavine.
MacLellan said the hall is an important part of the community's history and heritage.
“More importantly it's operated by a selfless team of volunteers who give significant time to keep the hall in impeccable condition,” he said. “I will do my very best to help and have been working on financial support.”