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Atlanta Tornado (photo by Shane Durrance Photography) |
In 2008, we opened Stella
Neighborhood Trattoria in Grant Park (it is now Doc Chey’s Grant Park – it turns
out, Grant Park residents prefer Asian noodles over Italian pasta -- but I
digress…).
We worked hard to get the
restaurant ready to open and scheduled our mock services for March 14,
2008. As with our first Doc Chey’s mock service, we invited hundreds of
our best friends and customers to evaluate our menu and service.
Everything was going great - the
food was coming out of the kitchen at a steady rate, our servers were doing a
great job taking care of our guests and the restaurant looked great.
Unfortunately, no one told Mother Nature that we were having a party that
night.
As the night wore on, the skies
over Oakland Cemetery started to look ominous. I stepped out on the patio
as the wind started to kick up – the Memorial Drive corridor was like a
wind tunnel. I did not think too much of it. A couple minutes
later, someone pointed out that the wind was really kicking up and I could see
signs and other larger objects starting to fly down the street.
Sensing something bad beginning to
happen, we advised all of our staff and guests to get under the tables as an
unforcasted tornado was building up to full speed. They always say that a
tornado sounds like a freight train and they aren’t kidding.
There are two things I will always
remember from that night:
The first was our rookie 17 year
old hostess, Miranda. As grown adults were freaking out all around her,
she calmly took charge and instructed them to get under the tables for
protection. If I ever get caught in a tornado again, I hope Miranda is
somewhere close by so she can slap me when I freak out.
The second was my wife Maura.
Maura loves a party and she was in her element as she was able to enjoy an
evening of good food and beverages with old friends. As the freight train
was chugging down Memorial Drive and Miranda was calmly positioning everyone
under tables, I looked over the dining room and the only people still sitting
in their seats were Maura and a friend. They
were so deep in conversation that they didn't even notice the tornado!
That was a devastating night as one person was killed,
close to 50 were injured and Cabbagetown was devastated. Shortly after
the tornado, we organized an event called “Dine Out for Tornado Relief”. Thirteen
of our restaurant friends participated in this event and helped us raise $12,000
for Cabbagetown tornado victims. I
continue to be impressed with the resiliency and spirit of the businesses and
residents of Grant Park and the neighboring communities.
-Rich Chey
