RUSSELLS POINT, Ohio — For over two weeks, LuLu’s at the Lake, a restaurant in Russells Point, has been giving out three free meals a day for anyone in the Indian Lake community in need.
The restaurant held a celebration on Sunday for Easter. They had baskets full of toys and treats, an easter egg hunt, a bounce house and an opportunity for kids to take pictures with the Easter bunny.
The restaurant wanted every kid to feel special and loved for the holiday. But they have been giving back to the community for weeks. Since the tornado hit the Indian Lake area, the restaurant stepped up to be a place of comfort.
“We just knew that we need to use it for good and to help everyone in the community. We jumped into action,” said Justin Musil, the owner of LuLu’s at the Lake.
Justin and his wife Amy own the restaurant and felt it was their job to step up for the community when it needed it.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and I was like 'I’m cold.' And he was like 'OK?' I said 'That means they're cold, that means the workers are cold. I need to make the van a coffee cart and start driving it around,'” said Amy.
So Amy started delivering coffee and hot meals to everyone in the community. A hot meal is something small, but something a lot of people didn’t have because of no electricity or heat.
“I just wanted to give them meat and potatoes. Come on that’s comfort food, everyone needed meat and potatoes to keep them going,” said Amy.
They opened up the restaurant for anyone and everyone, every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to give people a place to relax, a meal and not to worry about paying for it.
“It started to be the community room where people just wanted to sit and talk. It was healthy and good conversation,” said Amy.
The endless giving from the restaurant hasn’t gone unnoticed. People in the community couldn't believe the generosity.
“It means a lot because you come in here and the atmosphere is you are welcome here regardless of the situation and you are meeting new friends,” said Roger Wells, a Lakeview resident.
To Amy and Justin, it is second nature to open their home to others and give back to a community that has given them so much.
“You feel like it’s your calling and you want to just do it and make people feel good and take some type of burden off of them. To know that you are succeeding in that, it’s really powerful,” said Amy.