ST CHARLES, Mo. — On Wednesday night, a St. Charles restaurant went kosher for one night for a good cause.
Novellus sold out two dinners at its restaurant on Main Street as a fundraiser for Israel.
Co-owner of Novellus Restaurant Brett Affholder said he and his dad felt called to help families in Israel after watching the terrible Hamas attacks that started just weeks ago.
“He's had quite a few friends that were from the Jewish faith that have done a lot to really help him in his life. And he thought, 'How can I do something?'” Affholder said.
So for one special night, Novellus staff flipped the menu and the kitchen upside down to serve a kosher dinner to benefit Israel.
“People are really hurting\, and us coming together, besides sending a message of support, of love, of care, we are also feeding people in Israel, and we are letting them know that they're not alone,” Chabad Jewish Center of St. Charles County Rabbi Chaim Landa said.
Ahead of this special event Novellus, actually had to shut down for two days to prepare their kitchen to serve kosher foods.
“The cleaning and koshering process that's so difficult is what makes this so special. When it comes to ingredients, you have the meat, and the meats have to come from specific animals that are kosher. And then how it's prepared has to be kosher. Also, milk and meats don’t mix,” Landa said.
Affholder said both dinners sold out in just two hours.
“It gives me goosebumps to realize how many people are out there that don't know how to help but really want to help. It's a community effort and it’s great to see everyone coming together,” Affholder said.
Landa said the love that started at the dinner table in St. Charles is already making its way across the ocean to Israel, and people there are already receiving meals from the donations.
“There's a lot of hate, and there's a lot of darkness out there. But we have the power to create change, positive change, and a little bit of light expels a lot of darkness and you see it. I think this is the proof of that,” Landa said.
The restaurant owners, through the Affholder Foundation, matched all of the donations made Wednesday night up to $50,000 to help feed displaced Israeli families.
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