ESPANOLA—The world can sometimes seem cold, heartless and unkind, but if you look carefully, and you don’t need to look too far, you’ll find kindness, generosity and warmth. Take, for example, Sukhdev Restaurant. Recently, they posted the following message on Facebook: “Dear friends if you are Hungry and have no money to pay just come in for a free meal box or coffee anytime. We will not ask any questions of any kind. Please come in for a free meal to go or coffee anytime we are open. In this tough time for everyone, just a good deed from Sukhdev Restaurant.”
“When we posted this on Facebook,” said Amrit Singh, “we received a lot of emails, calls and Facebook messages, people appreciate this, they offer us money to increase the meals from 10 to 20 or maybe to 25.” Amrit Singh is co-owner of the restaurants, along with his brother Gurpreet. They opened Sukhdev in Espanola in 2020, the restaurant in Sudbury came next and now, this popular fresh food, locally sourced, authentic Indian cuisine can be found throughout the North, from Sault-Ste-Marie to North Bay.
The offer of a free meal is available at all locations and the number of meals given out on any given day depends upon the location and the day itself. “It’s a minimum of 10 meals, but sometimes it’s 12 or 13, sometimes 20.” Mr. Singh said. “It’s a good thing when you can start your work with charity. Even my staff appreciates it. They always seem happy because of the working environment, doing some social cause and it makes them very proud,” he added.
Sukhdev is the given name of Amrit and Gurpreet Singh’s father. “What we are doing today, and where we are, we are inspired by our father, who taught us everything—how to do business, care for the community, do charity—what we are today is because of him,” Mr. Singh said.
The two Sukhdev restaurants on Manitoulin Island—in Little Current and M’Chigeeng—are seasonal and closed now till next summer, but Mr. Singh says a fair number of Island residents are customers of the Espanola location.
The Sukhdev Restaurants are a family affair. This is apparent when scrolling through their Facebook page. There’s a warmth there, the same warmth that’s felt in a conversation with Amrit Singh. Here are a couple of quotes from the numerous responses to their offering of a free meal: “Wow, a restaurant with a heart of gold! This is kindness.” Another comment: “Awesome business doing awesome things. I’m going to increase my frequency of ordering out here for my family, knowing that it’s going to help them help others. We already love the food.” Perhaps, Sukhdev’s generous offer will be like a pebble dropped in a pond, its ripples spreading out in increasing circles. Because there is kindness, generosity and warmth in the world, and, thankfully, it is very near.