Thank You, Merci, Gracias, Grazie, Shukraan Jazilaan, Blagodaryu Vas, Obrigado, Dyakuyu Tobi, Gratias Tibi, Takk Skal Du-Ha, תודה

Dear Friend of Chez François;

We are grateful and have been humbled by your patronage and generosity for our Chez To Go “Carry Out” venue during this time of Covid-19! We hope that you and your family have been safe. We look forward to opening our doors Thursday, May 21, 2020, we thank Governor DeWine’s order to REOPEN restaurants & bars in Ohio.

A lot has been said about the handling of the Covid-19 crises by Governor DeWine and I would only like to reflect on the fact that it is better to error on the side of caution. Ultimately, history will determine how this crisis could have been avoided and who was right or wrong on the handling of this crisis to our country and economy. I have seen the front-line healthcare workers, true angels in these crises, who have witnessed this tragic virus firsthand and risk their own health to help others. They have said to me they wholeheartedly agree with the Governor’s decision. They are in the arena!

The health of our spiritual ideals depends on what we do with our bodies in moments of truth. I am reminded of French Philosopher, Anne Dufourmantelle, who died in 2017, age fifty-three, rushing into surf to save two drowning children who were not her own. In her writing, Anne had spoken of risk- saying that it was impossible to live life without risk and that in fact, life is a risk. It is the presence of danger, she once said in an interview, that we are gifted with the “strong incentive for action, dedication, and surpassing oneself.”

To borrow a quote from Ryan Holdays book “Stillness is the Key”. “What is better? To live as a coward or to die a hero? To fall woefully short of what you know to be right or to fall in the line of duty? And which is more natural? To refuse a call from your fellow humans or to dive in bravely and help them when they need you?”

We thank all the front-line heroes for the sacrifice they have given to help others. You have been “Angels on the Shoulders” of many and are often called upon to do the impossible.

May God Bless you and your families. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

We are all ready to get back to work and it will happen sooner than later, but to criticize persons that make tough decisions is not correct or helpful. I am reminded by the words of President Theodore Roosevelt who said in a speech On April 23, 1910;

“The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer,” he said. “A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities—all these are marks, not … of superiority but of weakness.”

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

We will continue with our Chez To Go “Carry Out” venue on Fridays and Saturdays and look forward to serving you soon.

God Bless and Stay Safe! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Proprietors,

Mattew Mars & Chef John D’Amico