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Z-Pita

Photo by Arnold Christian

A Port Jefferson welcome

Members of the community, including Mayor Margot Garant, came out for a book signing and meet and greet with author Nicole J. Christian (in blue dress) at Z Pita in Port Jefferson on Oct. 29. Christian was in town to promote her new book, “How to Consult, Coach, Freelance and Gig: Gaining financial independence by doing what you know and what you love.” 

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Port Jeff business owner Joey Zangrillo during a July trip to a Kenya orphanage he hopes to help expand. Photo from Joey Zangrillo

By Alex Petroski 

Main Street in Port Jefferson and Nairobi County in Kenya are separated by 7,300 miles, but a chance meeting between a local business owner and a Kenyan lawyer has made a world of difference for needy children in the impoverished nation.

In 2016, Annette Kawira, 28, moved with her then-fiancé from Kenya to Port Jeff. One night she and her now-husband, who relocated to begin working at Stony Brook University, found themselves in Port Jeff looking for a place to eat and ended up dining at the Greek restaurant Z Pita. Owner Joey Zangrillo struck up a conversation with Kawira, who had been a practicing lawyer in Kenya. She told him about her home and about a charitable effort in which she had previously been involved. Kawira said she used to donate 10 percent of her monthly salary to a cause being undertaken by a pastor in a suburb of Nairobi, whose mission was to help orphaned and forgotten children living on the streets without proper care.

A well that was established in large part through a fundraiser at Zangrillo’s restaurant. Photo from Joey Zangrillo

According to Kawira, Pastor Hika Kamau and his wife Judy realized after several church services that when tea and bread were shared with members of the congregation, several children would appear to eat and then disappear. Kawira said Kamau was curious about what was going on with the approximately dozen children. So after one service he told the children he would gladly feed them lunch; but in exchange he asked them to introduce him to their parents. It then occurred to him many were orphans, and others had families that were either unable or unwilling to care for their children.

“He just wondered, ‘Where do these kids go during the week?’” Kawira said.

This sparked Kamau’s motivation.

In 2009, the pastor set up what would eventually evolve into the Bethsaida Orphanage, headed by the Bethsaida Community Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping needy children in the area, with the help of the Bethsaida Women’s Empowerment Group. The school, which is also home for many of the children, originated as a small dwelling built out of mud and soil on the grounds of the church for the original group of children the pastor met after services. Through word of mouth, the number of children served by the school has ballooned to more than 100, with 72 kids from 1 year old to 17 years old living permanently on the site, which has grown through the exchange of the pastor’s ancestrally inherited land.

Kawira said she was happy to donate part of her salary to help the cause.

“Every time I would give it to them, I realized what I was giving really wasn’t making a difference, because they would probably just eat, buy a few utilities — that doesn’t change the situation that they were in,” she said while sitting at a table inside Z Pita. “My interest with the kids was to just make sure whatever we do, it’s sustainable. I don’t think you can beg forever … what can we do that will empower these kids to empower themselves?”

When Kawira found herself at Zangrillo’s restaurant last year, they struck up a conversation, and the restaurant owner told her about his own charitable effort on which he had just embarked. Zangrillo founded a company called Race Has No Place, an apparel brand with a mission of breaking down barriers between people of different races. Purchasers of the apparel, upon check out, are instructed to select a charity of their choice toward which to direct 10 percent of their purchase. Zangrillo and Kawira soon realized their missions intersected and decided to team up.

Kawira explained the story behind the pastor’s mission in Kenya, and by July of this year, after a fundraiser at Z Pita, the Port Jeff business owner was on a 25-hour excursion to see the desperate area for himself.

“I’m telling you — what good food can do,” Kawira said, laughing about the lucky circumstances that led to the charitable partnership. “Good food brings people together.”

Port Jeff business owner Joey Zangrillo during a July trip to a Kenya orphanage he hopes to help expand. Photo from Joey Zangrillo

After the first fundraiser and additional money accumulated by a donation container that sits on the front counter at the restaurant year-round, enough money has been raised to begin the construction of a well at the orphanage, which will provide much-needed clean water.

“I’m never going to forget them — I’m going to make this a lifelong mission, as long as I’m alive,” Zangrillo said, reflecting on his eight-day trip to East Africa.

Zangrillo and Kawira have enlisted the help of Maureen Nabwire, a native of Kenya, who serves as a project manager for their efforts and has plans to venture to Port Jeff to establish a game plan for 2018. Plans include figuring out how much money needs to be raised and how it will be done to make the facility everything it needs to be for as many needy Kenyan children as possible.

“Annette and Joey are the kindest and most beautiful souls, and I am so glad I get to work on this initiative with them,” Nabwire said in an email. “They have marshaled the Port Jefferson community into this great cause, and I am super proud of them. They have brought the plight and needs of Bethsaida community children home to a much greater audience and the response has been immensely positive. Annette and Joey represent the society we want to have where your neighbor’s trouble or suffering is your problem. From what they have done, the home down here in Kenya is going to take care of the children without trouble, and guarantee them basic needs and a good education.”

Kawira tried to sum up what the extra attention being paid to a needy group in her home country has meant so far, and what it will mean in the future.

“We’re dealing with kids who don’t have primary resources — water, clothing and shelter,” she said. “It would be hard to explain how dire the need is until you see it.”

To learn more about the cause, visit www.facebook.com/racehasnoplace. For more information about the Bethsaida Community Foundation or to get involved, visit www.besahemi.org.

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R.J. Torbert, back row, third from right, in front of Z-Pita with Grace Verruto from the Village of Port Jefferson, far left, family, friends and Z-Pita owner Joey Zee, front row Photo by Heidi Sutton

Z-Pita in Port Jefferson hosted a book signing for author R.J. Torbert on June 28 to promote the recent release of Torbert’s thriller novel, “No Mercy,” the action-packed sequel to “The Face of Fear.” Both plots take place in Port Jefferson Village. The Pie in Port Jefferson hosted a second book signing on June 30.

A resident of Miller Place, Torbert is also known as the creator of the famous ghost mask from the “SCREAM” movies.

The author is scheduled to appear at Barnes and Nobles on July 9 in Lake Grove at 4 p.m. and at the Port Jefferson Free Library on July 16 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. for a rare Q-and-A with guest speaker John Valeri of The Hartford Book Examiner. Registration is required for the library event by calling 631-473-0022.

For more information on the book, visit wwwpowersandjohnson.com.

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One of the tables at last year’s event beautifully decorated for the fall. Photo from PJCC

The annual A Taste of Port Jefferson is back and is better than ever. Now in its 8th year, the one-day event will feature food samplings and wine and beer tastings from more than 35 local shops and restaurants.

There are only two requirements — come with an empty stomach and be prepared to feel full from the delicious foods!

Presented by The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, the event, for ages 21 and over, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Port Jefferson Village Center at 101A E. Broadway overlooking beautiful Port Jefferson Harbor.

As in previous years, guests are invited to be judges and vote on Best Food and Drink. “Keeping the event fresh, we also have a new contest this year — voting for favorite dessert. We also have many new vendors, which is very exciting,” said Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber.

Participating businesses will include C’est Cheese, The Village Way, Tommy’s Place, The Fifth Season, The Arden, Ruvo, The Amazing Olive, The Pie Pizzeria Napoletana, Penntara Lao-Thai Catering, Smoke Shack Blues BBQ, Uncle Giuseppe’s, Z-Pita, Messina Market & Catering, Cornecopia Cafe, Pasta Pasta, Costco, Custom Cafe & Deli, Danfords Wave Seafood Kitchen, La Parilla, Port Jeff Lobster House, Schafer’s and  Smoke Shack Blues BBQ.

Dessert samplings from A Cake in Time, Chocology Unlimited, La Bonne Boulangerie and Starbucks will also be available. Wine and beer tastings will be offered by Mora’s Fine Wines, the Port Jeff Brewing Co., Vine 2 Vine, Brewology295 and the L.I. Pour House.

Sponsors this year include Long Island Creative Contracting, UnitySEO Solutions, Yelp, Times Beacon Record Newspapers, Arras Agency, Jolie Powell Realty, AXA Advisors, St. Charles Hospital, Live It Up!, Smoke Shack Blues and Port Jefferson Live.

Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the door. For further information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.ATasteofPortJefferson.com.