Restaurant owner says thanks

Treats Bridgeview village workers to luncheon

By Steve Metsch

A Bridgeview restaurant owner and board member of The Mosque Foundation treated village employees to a luncheon as way to say thanks.

Kalid Baste has owned the Al Bawadi Grill, 7216 W. 87^th St., for 13 years. He’s also been a longtime member of the mosque, and has lived in the village for decades.

Baste and his employees carted in big trays of food on June 3 to thank the village for its continued support of his restaurant and of the mosque.

There was no shortage of goodies at the luncheon provided to Bridgeview village employees by Kalid Baste. Photo by Steve Metsch.

Village hall employees, police officers, firefighters, public works personnel and others enjoyed the luncheon that was served in the village board’s meeting room.

“Basically, we’re just showing them appreciation between what they’ve done for us over the years. And we had a holiday (at the mosque) over a week ago,” Baste said, referring to Eid-al-Fitr, the festive conclusion of Ramadan.

In past years, the celebration brought huge crowds – not to mention lots of tasty food as Ramadan fasting ended on that day – to SeatGeek Stadium.

But that was not possible this year with restrictions on large public gatherings thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, the May 24 event saw bigger than usual crowds to the mosque, 7360 W. 93^rd St., dwarfing the usual large amount of traffic seen on Harlem Avenue for Friday worship.

“The police department, the fire department, emergency services, the volunteers, they did an amazing job,” Baste said “In the end, they even asked us, ‘We hope everything went okay,’ as opposed to us feeling bothersome.”

“We caused a lot of traffic,” he added. “This was worse than a Friday.”

It was all smiles at the village hall when workers savored lamb, steak and chicken kabobs, hummus, grilled vegetables, and falafel.

Each person also received “a care package, because a lot of these things are had to come by,” Baste said.

Each gift bag included disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant spray. But that’s not all.

They also received a $20 gift card to Al Bawadi Grill; a $10 gift card to The Nut House, 7281 W. 87^th St.; and two $15 gift cards to the Wet Spot Car Wash, 10500 S Harlem, Palos Hills, which is owned by Baste.

“Now, I’ve gotta buy a car,” Village Trustee Michael Pticek quipped

Baste addressed the diners during the luncheon, telling them “for all these years, you guys have been very good to me and my family. We’re grateful for that.”

Oussama Jammal, president of the mosque, said it and the village “have a marvelous relationship, the best that can exist.”

“We have a lot of cooperation, a lot of understanding with one another, a lot of support,” Jammal said. “This is what keeps our village growing, stable and safe. We appreciate working with you.”

Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek spoke highly of the Jammal and Baste.

“These gentlemen are some of the best, and you know it, too,” Landek told village workers.

“Kal, what you’ve done,” Landek said. “You invested in our community and we really appreciate that. When you take your own money and invest in our town …. He makes our community proud.”

Desplaines Valley News

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Steve Metsch

Steve Metsch is an award winning veteran reporter who previously worked for the Daily Southtown Newspapers, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Metsch is a writer and editor at the Southwest News Newspaper group based in suburban Chicago, and a freelance writer a health magazine, the Suburban Life, the Naperville Sun, and other organizations.
Email Steve Metsch at [email protected]