About 55 children and adults with special needs and their families dined for free and received presents from Santa. Last year’s event at the former Central Avenue location attracted 30 children, and since this year’s crowd was much larger, there were three seatings at the 640 N. University Blvd. location.
Volunteers from a small group at Berachah Church in Middletown took the orders, delivered the meals and cleaned the tables between shifts. Regular staff members, who were paid for working, cooked all the food.
Dalton said since the restaurant moved from downtown to University Boulevard earlier this year, business has tripled and his staff size has doubled.
Hosting the event was a way for the couple to pay back the community, he said.
“God has blessed us and this is our way of blessing other people,” he said while greeting many of those children with special needs by name. “This is just a night to give back. I love it.”
He estimated all the food and ice cream from the Cone of West Chester cost him about $4,000. Customers who tried to dine at Brent’s when it was closed to the public Monday were given gift cards for the inconvenience.
“We can always make more money,” Dalton said. “No amount of money is worth this to give back to people. This means more to me than anything else.”
Dalton said it’s important for those with special needs and their families to feel comfortable and for no one to criticize them for their appearance or actions.
“This is their night,” said Dalton, a 1994 Middletown High School graduate who opened his first restaurant at 1206 Central Ave. in 2020. “They can do whatever they want.”
Emily Ratliff said her son, William, 8, is non-verbal autistic. There are times, especially when William gets excited like seeing Santa, he wildly flaps his arms. That can make some people uncomfortable, she said.
“It’s great to come to a place and not be judged,” she said. “Sometimes he acts different than what some people consider what normal is.”
Matt Disher, whose son, Cayden, has cerebral palsy, called the evening “beyond amazing.”
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