LAWRENCE: Valentine’s Day benefit will help Haiti victims

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
    Salvatore Scarlata had been planning a family vacation to the Dominican Republic for months, but when he learned of last month’s earthquake in neighboring Haiti, he decided to do something for the victims there.
    Mr. Scarlata, who is the chef and owner of Vidalia’s restaurant at 21 Phillips Ave. in Lawrenceville, will prepare a four-course meal for Valentine’s Day — and donate 20 percent of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund.
    The restaurant will be open Valentine’s Day from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be three seatings. The first seating is $55 per person, and the second and third seatings are $65 per person.
    The menu includes a choice of wild fish, organic grain-fed beef and homemade pastas, the chef said. Patrons also will receive chocolate-dipped strawberries, a champagne toast and a rose for the ladies. The menu is the same for all three seatings.
    Mr. Scarlata said he had just booked the family’s trip — which they still intend to take — the night before the Jan. 12 earthquake struck Haiti, which is on the same Caribbean island.
    “I turned on the TV and (the victims) were distraught. Everything had basically collapsed. I watched CNN and they showed the destruction there,” Mr. Scarlata said.
    When he saw the devastation, his immediate impulse was to help. But what could the owner of a Lawrence Township restaurant do to help the victims of an earthquake?
    Mr. Scarlata said one of the waiters suggested making a donation. It occurred to Mr. Scarlata that he could take advantage of the Valentine’s Day holiday and donate a portion of the day’s profits to a nonprofit group to help the victims.
    “It will put my heart at ease,” he said of the fundraising effort. “I can sleep at night and not think about the other people. It will make me very happy. I feel like I am putting mankind back on Earth.”
    Word about the Valentine’s Day fundraiser has spread, Mr. Scarlata said. He added that he had received a reservation from someone who had never visited the restaurant, but that she was stirred to do so when she found out that he was going to donate money to help the Haitians.
    Reservations for the Valentine’s Day dinner can be made by calling Vidalia’s restaurant at 609-896-4444, or by fax at 609-896-4450, or online at www.eatatvidalia.com.