Princeton restaurant cooks up food for the community amid COVID-19 pandemic

PRINCETON, N.J. - A Princeton restaurant is focusing on helping others through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I’m from Italy and thank God that I live here because this country has given me a lot in the last 23 years that I live here," Michael Moriello told FOX 29.

He’s humble and when you’re talking to Moriello, the owner of La Mezzaluna Restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey, you would have no idea that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an economic struggle for him, his family, and his employees. He’s way too focused on helping others.

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“We closed the restaurant on March 19. William and I decided to not just look around the world at what’s going on. We decided to do something,” Moriello explained.

Like many businesses on the normally busy Princeton streets, his restaurant remains closed but just walk into the kitchen and there's a lot going on.

“We’re cooking for the community, as you can see, for many families they are in town and lost their jobs right now and can’t afford a meal in the evening, so we try to help them and prepare food for them," he said.

Moriello is cooking and donating hundreds of meals to families, organizations and local medical staff. It's not just basic meals, the meals are all restaurant quality.

"Most of the time, whatever we prepare for them, it’s our dinner too for me and my family,"  Moriello said. "I’m sure we’re gonna come back stronger than before, we’ll be back soon.”

He, of course, didn’t believe he deserved the hero label and explained by sharing a story from his homeland.

“Some doctors who were retired and they were called for the emergency to help sick people and they got the virus and they died and they were retired. They dropped everything and they went there and lost their lives. To me they are heroes. We’re cooking, taking a little risk, but it’s nothing compared to what these people are doing,"  Moriello said.

It’s a strong example of his humility but Moriello should be appreciated none the less — for goodness sake.

We want to hear from you. Tell us about a hero you know using the hashtag #FOX29Heroes or #ForGoodnesSake.

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