Saturday, August 16, 2003

By LISA CORYELL
Trenton Times

TRENTON -- Move over Marsilio's. Look out Lorenzo's. There's a restaurant in town looking to lure away your customers.

The newly renovated Mates Inn on Stuyvesant Avenue, staffed and run by prisoners at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, reopened for business yesterday to rave reviews.
Dozens of elected officials and dignitaries, including state Department of Corrections Commissioner Devon Brown, were on hand for the public opening.

New dining rooms have replaced the old cafeteria-style dining center and the effect provides the Mates Inn the look of a homey restaurant.

Andrew Savicky, director of mental health for the DOC, said he's been eating at the restaurant daily since it opened to employees at the DOC site on Stuyvesant Avenue.

"I have a favorite table where I can sit and talk to people," Savicky said. "The place is outstanding. The environment is good, the service is good and the food is fresh and delicious."

The restaurant opened 30 years ago as a work-program venue for prisoners with a flair for cooking. But several months ago the place was shut down for sweeping renovations and the remodeled facility is now the home of a nationally acclaimed culinary education program that teaches young offenders the ins and outs of preparing both fine cuisine and traditional fare.

"When they leave they'll have the same certifications they would if they'd gone through a vocational school program," said Kim Drugas, a career chef who designed the curriculum. "They not only get classroom experience, they get the practical experience of running a restaurant."

The inmates, all minimum security prisoners within 18 months of being released, perform a variety of tasks, including selecting the menu, ordering from the food vendors, preparing the food and waiting on the customers.

"I never went to college, and I never saw myself getting involved in this kind of thing but I can see myself doing this after I get out," said Brian Keating, who is serving time for conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Keon Garvin, serving time for robbery, said he always liked to cook and finds himself enjoying baking for the restaurant.

"It's a good experience, and I'm learning to interact with people better," he said.

Edward Tiller, incarcerated for drug offenses, said he hopes to use his newfound skills when he is released.

"We'll have certifications that open us up to a lot of different jobs and opportunities," Tiller said. "I'm hoping it will make it easier for us to find jobs so we don't have to rely on certain (illegal) things to make money."

Mates Inn is open to the public for breakfast and lunch and requires no reservations. It's located at DOC's central office headquarters at Stuyvesant Avenue and Whittlesey Road. Diners must use a machine to put cash value onto a debit card to pay for their meals and tipping the staff is strictly forbidden.

Brown said he hopes to expand the program to include visiting chefs from local restaurants who will teach the inmates a variety of cooking techniques.

"It's important because the majority of inmates will be returned to society and we want them better going out than they were coming in," Brown said. "We want them equipped with sound, marketable skills and, most importantly, a work ethic."

(This article has been reprinted courtesy of the Trenton Times.)