St. Anthony's Anticipates Thousands of People to Bid Farewell to the Original Dining Room

Senator Mark Leno will join the public to say goodbye to St. Anthony's Original Dining Room in the final days before it gets demolished.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Anthony's Dining Room will open the doors on Saturday, February 25th, 2012, for one final time to bid farewell to the original Dining Room, established on October 4th, 1950 [meals are being served across the street in a temporary location].  The agency expects thousands of clients, staff, volunteers, and civic leaders who have had a part in St. Anthony's 61 year history to attend this historic event.

A Fond Farewell
Saturday, February 25th
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Open House
12 p.m.: Official program with Mark Leno and a variety of entertainment
45 Jones Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

The event, A Fond Farewell, will be the last opportunity for the public to say goodbye to a space that has changed the lives of millions of people. The Dining Room will become a canvas for people to express their sentiments about what this space means to them and San Francisco.  Thanks to a local auto-repair shop, cars from the 1940s and 1950s will be parked in front of the Dining Room to harken back to its first days.  Guests are invited to paint the walls, play music, contribute a note to our time capsule, and even do a little minor demolition and take a small piece of the Dining Room home.  As a closing ritual, staff, volunteers, and guests will collectively take part in carrying a statue of St. Anthony of Padua – one that has graced the entrance to the original Dining Room for over 50 years – through the Tenderloin to its new home in St. Anthony's interim Dining Room.

St. Anthony's has stood firm as a safe place during turbulent times.  Our Dining Room has survived seven recessions, remained steadfastly on the right side of history during the civil rights era and the AIDS epidemic, and managed to stay open for service during the 1989 earthquake.

St. Anthony's will continue daily operations, including 3,000 meals a day, in an interim Dining Room for the next two years while Nibbi Brothers General Contractors demolishes and rebuilds The New St. Anthony's Dining Room, expected to open in the summer of 2014.

SOURCE St. Anthony Foundation