www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY April 26, 2020 4
Trio of Bronx restaurants feed the front line during COVID-19
Photo courtesy of Alfredo Angueria
Remembering Throggs Neck resident Maria Salaman
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MEMBER:
BY JASON COHEN
Retail jobs make up 19
percent of the workforce
in the Bronx and many
of those places are shuttered
due to coronavirus.
But three restaurants
owned by a group of
Bronxites, including former
NFL player Willie
Colòn have stayed open
during the COVID-19
crisis and have been
feeding fi rst responders.
Along with Colon,
Alfredo Angueria and
Junior Martinez, operate
Bricks and Hops at 65
Bruckner Blvd., the south
Bronx’s only beer garden,
The Bronx Drafthouse
next to Yankee Stadium
and neighboring hip hopthemed
restaurant, Beatstro
on Alexander Avenue.
“I was born and raised
in the Bronx,” Angueria
said. “I remember
my grandfather waiting
online for government
cheese and butter in the
south Bronx. Knowing
that we are able to give
back is a blessing.”
Angueria, a former
attorney, told the Bronx
Times that while the
three places are barely
breaking even by doing
takeout and delivery, he
knew when the pandemic
started they had to aid
the front line.
He noted that his restaurants
and others in
the Bronx that are open
are sacrifi cing their own
health to feed the community
and fi rst responders.
“We didn’t know how
long this was going to
last,” Angueria said. “We
wanted to help as much
as we could.”
They started off providing
food to emergency
personnel and then expanded
to Lincoln and
Jacobi Hospitals.
“We would feed the entire
Bronx if we could,”
he stated.
But all of this was
coming out of their pockets.
They quickly partnered
up with nonprofi ts
World Central Kitchen
and Here to Here who
have been buying food
from them.
The three restaurants
have given away more
than 12,000 meals a day
and in total, more than
300,000 through World
Central Kitchen.
“It’s really the assistance
that we get for supplying
fi rst responders
that has allowed us to stay
afl oat,” he explained.
While he has only had
the restaurants for four
years, he feels when the
pandemic ends, many
people will be left in debt,
jobless and hurting. He
expressed that the federal
government really
needs to help people.
According to Angueria,
it will take months
before people recover if
they do at all.
“We understand that
times are tough right now
as a business, but times
are tough for the average
person in the street,” he
said. “This is something
no one has ever seen before.
There’s going to be a
lot of people struggling to
make ends meet.”
Angueria said there’s
a common misconception
that restaurants make
money hand over fi st.
With increased minimum
wage, taxes, bills, vendors
and now only takeout and
delivery, vacancies will be
all over, he stressed.
“This is going to be a
very different landscape,”
he remarked. “It’s going to
be a very diffi cult picture
for us as a business.”
BY JASON COHEN
Lifelong Throggs Neck
resident Maria Salaman
dedicated her life to teaching.
She taught for more
than 25 years but sadly
passed away at the age of 81
from COVID-19 on April 1.
Her daughter, Community
Board 10 member and
fellow Throggs Neck resident
Angela Torres, spoke
about her mom and the impact
she had on her family,
community and students.
“She was an amazing
woman,” Torres said. “Her
death has been an incredible
loss for our family.”
Salaman was a bilingual
teacher at P.S. 196 at 1250
Ward Ave., where she taught
newly-arrived children from
Spanish-speaking countries,
along with students
who had already acquired
some English skills.
Later in her career, she
worked at the Monolingual
Talented and Gifted Program
at Archer Elementary
School at 1827 Archer
St.. Upon her retirement
in 2004, Salaman became
a consultant for the Bronx
Si Beagle Learning Center
of the United Federation of
Teachers, focusing on teaching
Spanish to retired teachers
who were eager to learn
a second language.
She received the Edith
Potter-Anne Reel Award in
2018 for her distinguished
career of excellence and
continued to teach retirees
until the age of 80.
“She was warm, always
smiling, engaging, intelligent
and able to capture the
attention, hearts and minds
of all who came into contact
with her,” Torres said.
“She was an extremely hard
working person, an avid
reader, and always had a
wise and inspirational word
to share with others.”
Religion and family
meant everything to her,
Torres explained. Along
with Torres, Salaman had
two other kids, Ricardo
and Maria-Elena and eight
grandkids.
Christmas was her favorite
holiday and everyone
always got together.
“She always taught me
with God, everything is possible,”
Torres remarked.
“She loved her family so
very much, always encouraged
them to accomplish all
of their dreams, and served
an important role as the
matriarch and we hope to
carry on her traditions for
generations to come.”
She was married to Angel
Salaman for 60 years and
the two of them instilled values
in their children including
a solid work ethic and
how to be kind and compassionate
toward people.
Her mom was the rock
and the glue of the family.
She loved to teach, knit, go
on mission trips to Puerto
Rico and was a frequent
preacher on the radio.
“Her impact and footprint
in the Bronx and the
greater world will continue
for generations to come,”
Torres commented. “She
will always live in our
hearts and minds forevermore.”
Torres, who only lives
a block from her parents,
feels like a part of her life is
missing. She feels grateful
to have been raised by such
a woman.
“She embodied what it is
to be a strong person,” Torres
said. “She always saw
the good in everyone and
never really said a bad word
about anyone.”
Maria Salaman on her 81st birthday with seven of the eight grandkids
Photo courtesy of Angela Torres
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