Menus were issued to students as they went to avoid gatherings. – F.Brenon / 20Minutes
- Berlin 1989 decided to offer a total of 800 menus to students, usually its main clientele.
- Many students suffer from isolation due to distance learning.
- Others lost their complementary jobs and the precious income that came with it.
“Let us help them: they are taking the health crisis head-on! The appeal of Berlin 1989, a Nantes restaurant well known to students enrolled at the Petit-Port campus, was heard. This Wednesday at noon, some 400 students came to the establishment on Boulevard Gabriel-Lauriol to receive a free menu: cheeseburger, fries, fruit juice. The beneficiaries, who simply had to present their student card, had pre-registered a week earlier. “Everything had been booked in 24 hours,” notes Thomas Dufour, founder of the brand. The distribution was staggered between 11:45 am and 2:15 pm in order not to create a crowd.
The operation, which will be repeated for the benefit of 400 additional students on Wednesday April 14, was financed by 2,700 euros in donations from customers, partners and suppliers. The restaurant, on the other hand, has put its staff to work. “The objective is first of all to please these young people who represent the majority of our clientele. They are severely affected by the health situation. I find they are somewhat forgotten victims, ”explains Thomas Dufour, who asked the university to“ relay the operation to the most disadvantaged students in particular ”.
“It’s nice to make them happy”
The other objective was to mobilize staff around positive action. “We have been closed for six months because our activity is not considered essential, deplores Thomas Dufour. For our employees, as for the entire profession, it is hard. They no longer have the head to confine themselves. They can’t wait to get back to their work tool. “” We are delighted to be here to serve all of these students. It’s nice to make them happy, ”confirms an employee behind the counter.
As for the beneficiaries, we obviously appreciate this “generosity”. “I was a little surprised when I discovered the operation on Facebook. And I signed up saying to myself that it was going to go quickly, ”says Marie, a master’s student in health biology. “It feels good to meet again”, rejoices one of his friends who, like all students, takes courses from a distance. “It’s super nice to think of us,” says Antonin, in Master of Languages. For the past year, we’ve all been a bit isolated. And many have lost the jobs that allowed them to get by. I worked in a bar at night. He doesn’t need me anymore since the Covid. For those who do not have the parents to support it, it is complicated. “