Gainesville restaurants offer meals for furloughed federal employees

At least three Gainesville restaurants are stepping up to feed federal employees who have gone about a month without a paycheck.

The government shutdown began Dec. 22 over disputes over $5 billion to build President Donald Trump’s proposed Mexican border wall, according to The Associated Press. It’s now historically the longest shutdown.

MidiCi, a Neapolitan pizza restaurant, at 4949 Celebration Pointe Ave., offered free lunch to these employees Tuesday, said restaurant owner Thomas Evins.

The free meal includes any classic pizza, house or caesar salad and a soda or sweet tea with a federal government ID.

“This is an opportunity for us to give back to the community and try and do what we can to help,” Evins, 28, said.

Evins said he is not concerned with how much the free lunches will cost him.

“We’re happy to provide as much as it costs to make sure people leave as happy as possible,” he said.

Brendan Mickett, a 19-year-old server at MidiCi, said the restaurant would extend the offer of free lunches every Tuesday until the shutdown is over.

Mickett’s father is a federal employee who works for the Ocala National Forest and has been on leave since the beginning of the shutdown, Mickett said.

“It’s a good way to give back to the people who help us every day,” he said.

Francesca’s Trattoria, at 4410 NW 25th Place, posted on Facebook that it is offering federal government employees a free entree from its lunch menu and a soft drink with a federal ID Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The offer is valid until Feb. 21 or when the government shutdown ends.

Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, at 2905 SW 42nd St., is also offering a discount for these employees. They can get a 50 percent discount on any meal with a federal ID until the government shutdown is over, manager Philip Stevens said.

“It’s a way that we can give back a little bit,” Stevens, 26, said. “If we can give back a little bit extra, that’s just something we can do to help the community.”

Stevens said with the uncertainty of the shutdown and amount of employees in the city, it’s unknown how much it will cost them.

“We haven’t really crunched any numbers because you don’t know who’s going to come in,” Stevens said. “We served a group of 15 from an office today and that was really nice to be able to do something.”

Contact Tien Le at tle@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @tientle11.

MidiCi, The Neapolitan Pizza Company, offered free lunches to federal employees on temporary leave Jan. 22. It is one of at least three restaurants in Gainesville offering a free or discounted meal to these employees.