Restaurant served up a treat for NHS
St John’s Hospital staff enjoyed a well-deserved treat courtesy of a nearby Italian restaurant.
Hard-working NHS employees were handed free pizza and pasta delivered by Tony Macaroni as the restaurant was forced to shut down because of the pandemic.
In the lead up to the start of lockdown, Viva Italia, which comprises Tony Macaroni, Tony2Go and Mozza, delivered the meals to 14 hospitals spread across Scotland.
These included St John’s Hospital, as well as Edinburgh Royal infirmary and Western General.
The food was freshly prepared by Tony Macaroni restaurants in Livingston and Edinburgh, before they were forced to shut their doors.
During lockdown, with all the Viva Italia restaurants closed to the public, chefs worked round the clock to prepare thousands of free meals for NHS employees and carers.
And Tony Macaroni in Livingston played a key role.
The Tony Macaroni Pizza truck was stationed in the restaurant car park in Almondvale Crescent and from there it dispensed over 10,000 free pizzas to Health Service employees over 25 days.
In addition, vulnerable and elderly people in the Lothians were among 3000 who received free frozen pasta meals after being nominated by Tony Macaroni customers.
A spokesperson for Viva Italia said:“Just before lockdown fully commenced, and our restaurants were forced to completely close, we began delivering free pasta and pizza to hospitals all over Scotland from both Tony Macaroni and Mozza restaurants. We supplied the food to keep the nation’s NHS staff going as they battled the pandemic. The hospitals are near to our restaurants, which ensured the food we delivered was fresh and hot. We wanted to show our great appreciation for the frontline workers who were under such great pressure.
“On the Tony
Macaroni Facebook page, we asked our followers to nominate vulnerable and elderly people to receive free frozen pasta meals so they didn’t struggle for food during these difficult times.”