At Town Center, Boca
Chefs serve lunch to those in need
Town Center mall was closed on Christmas Day, open only to a select group: the hungry.
More than 300 clients assisted by South Florida’s social service agencies relished a free, sumptuous lunch on Monday, cooked by chefs from Boca Raton restaurants.
The upscale shopping mecca, home to such luxury stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, opened its food court to clients of Boca Helping Hands, Florence Fuller Child Development Centers, Place of Hope and other organizations that serve the needy.
Cendra Tanis, 37, a daycare worker at the Florence Fuller Child Development Center in West Boca, ate lunch with her three children, ages 2, 6 and 8. The Fuller center offered a sign-up sheet to let employees know about the mall lunch.
“This is a sad time for me, because my mom died four years ago at this time,” Tanis said. “We can’t afford gifts. We are wearing hand-me-downs. So it’s nice for my kids to be able to get out and eat a good meal and for me not to have to cook.”
Enthusiastic servers, including volunteers from Bloomingdale’s, Boca Helping Hands and local Rotary clubs, distributed heaping portions of stews, casseroles, turkey and vegetables to each table.
Diners ate on white linen tablecloths and trendy white and glass china. Fresh flowers decorated every table.
Bobby Boribong, managing partner at the mall restaurant The Capital Grille, where a New York strip steak at lunch costs $30, said he was thrilled to cook for