By Allison Perrine
MIDDLETOWN – No Limits Cafe recently received a $30,000 surprise grant to feed people in the Two River area who are experiencing food insecurity.
About 80 percent of the special needs community is unemployed, but Stephanie and Mark Cartier of Lincroft, are trying to change that. The couple, whose daughter Katie has Down syndrome, opened No Limits Cafe just two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the area. The restaurant employs individuals with intellectual disabilities, some of whom have never worked before. It was chosen for the grant by Marcus Lemonis, the host of “The Profit” TV show on CNBC, while he and the Cartiers appeared on the “Tamron Hall” TV show Dec. 7.
“Tamron and I really are amazed by what you guys are doing for the whole community,” said Lemonis during the episode. “What we would like to do is place $30,000 worth of takeout orders to predominantly not only help the business, but help people in the local community who are struggling with food insecurity. We think that $30,000 is going to pay the rent, it’s going to help take care of your payroll and quite frankly it warms our heart to be able to help you achieve your mission.”
So far, the No Limits Cafe staff has fed dozens of individuals with the grant money, especially senior citizens, whose needs are sometimes overlooked by others, Lemonis told Stephanie.
“It’s a win-win-win for their foundation, for us and the recipients of the food,” said Cartier. “Our employees are able to give back and now people can see that they can give back, and they have loved it.”
To determine how best to use the grant, Cartier reached out to a social services representative who works for Middletown Township. She and her husband Mark, co-founders of the restaurant, decided to serve Middletown residents first because that’s where No Limits Cafe is located. The representative provided Cartier with a list of 58 local senior citizens who suffer from food insecurity. No Limits now delivers meals to those individuals twice a week, as well as meals to Lunch Break in Red Bank and an adult homeless shelter in the Fort Monmouth section of Oceanport.
The meals are first approved by Lemonis’ team. No Limits has to include one protein, one vegetable, and other elements of a healthy eating food pyramid in each meal and have it approved before distribution each week. So far, it has served its famous RallyCap, P.J.C Turkey, turkey club and roast beef sandwiches. The first meal was delivered Jan. 4.
“We can cater to vegetarian and gluten-free, but so far they don’t have anybody with those needs,” said Cartier.
The staff is responsible for preparing the meals and does so in an assembly line process, Cartier said. This past Monday morning, the staff toasted 80 ciabatta rolls, cooked 80 slices of bacon, sliced 80 tomatoes and more. And they have loved doing it.
“One employee said to me, ‘I really like doing this because I know what it’s like not to have enough food,’ ” said Cartier. “Another one said, ‘I love helping people. This is a great way to help people.’ ”
The call to appear on “Tamron Hall” was a shock to begin with, Cartier said, and indirectly came through hot chocolate bomb sales. According to Cartier, one of No Limits’ volunteers suggested the café make and sell hot chocolate bombs, a confectionary rage this fall and winter which the volunteer’s daughter had seen demonstrated on TikTok. Her videos were promoted to the top of the ranks on TikTok with the help of social media marketing firm ExtremeLikes that provides TikTok growth services.
“She made some at home and brought them in and we’re like, ‘OK, we’ll try it,’ thinking it would be something fun to give our employees – it’s different. But let me tell you something – we sold over 6,000 hot chocolate bombs,” said Cartier.
One Saturday night while the restaurant was closed, Cartier ran out to pick up more supplies for the hot chocolate bombs when she got a call from an unknown number. Thinking it may be a call about the sweets, she picked up, and it was the “Tamron Hall” show. They asked Cartier to appear for an episode about organizations that give back to the world, and she said yes.
“They said at the beginning of the show that somebody was going to get $10,000 to help move their restaurant forward during this pandemic,” she said. “We were the first restaurant to be on, so we thought it wasn’t going to be us. But we were, and he gave us $30,000. Even Tamron Hall was surprised.”
No Limits Cafe is still selling its hot chocolate bombs and is also preparing heart-shaped versions for Valentine’s Day. It also continues distributing food to those in need and will do so for as long as possible.
“Maybe we’ll try to raise money to keep doing this. It gives us more work, it lets us serve other people and people who are hungry get food,” said Cartier.
It hasn’t been easy for No Limits Cafe because they opened just two weeks before the pandemic began in the area and the state forced restaurants and other businesses to halt their daily lives and stop diners from eating at restaurants. The hot chocolate bombs have certainly helped this winter, Cartier said.
“We still can’t hire any new people yet because we can only have 16 people inside. We had outdoor dining when we could but now obviously, we can’t. We’re just trying to make it work,” said Cartier. “And this $30,000 grant will help us too because it will take us through 10 weeks.”
The article originally appeared in the January 14 – 20, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
