With the help of his cane, Ron Handy walked into the Sweet Peas Café on Sunday morning and settled at an empty table. It was his second day back.
He was there on Aug. 1 when the restaurant reopened after the pandemic. Mr. Handy, a veteran and a widower, was disappointed with the response. “I expected the line to be out the door,” he said.
That may happen in the future, but news of the reopening is just starting to spread through the community. Mr. Handy has been a regular. He’s a fan of the food and a friend of the owner, Nina Baldassare. As they chat, he tells her that he has to blast his television to be able to hear it.
“Ron,” Nina asks, “would it be OK if I tried to get you a hearing aid?” The older gentleman looks surprised. He shrugs as if to say “Why wouldn’t it be OK?”
Mrs. Baldassare seems to know all the right people in the county. And it’s surprising because she’s here less than three years. She was living in Westchester on July 10, 2017 when her life changed. A military transport took off from Stewart that day and crashed in Mississippi, killing the 16 servicemen on board.
One of them was her son Daniel.
Responding to the loss, Mrs. Baldassare moved to the last community Daniel had known. And she embraced the military, active and retired, as members of her family.
She opened the café at 318 Blooming Grove Turnpike (Route 94) and offered a wide selection of breakfast and lunch specials. Despite the tragic origin of the restaurant, it’s a cheerful place. The dining area is bright and the staff is friendly. Before the pandemic, diners could listen to live music.
There are discounts for military families. And a GoFundMe page for people who want to support the outreach. I asked the owner about the name of the place. Why is it called Sweet Peas?
“It has a nice sound,” she said, “but it’s not the real name. On all the paperwork it’s called ‘The Never Forget Danny Café.’”
