The Buzz Around Town
Hershel “Woody” Williams, pictured in York Township in 2016, flipped the coin prior to Super Bowl LII Feb. 4. File photo by ALLISON WOOD
Kevin McManus
The decision to serve alcohol at a facility created by justice officials specifically to help individuals in recovery should be backed up with some very compelling reasoning.
Otherwise, it sounds pretty asinine.
Last week, nonprofit Robby’s Voice, which county court leaders originally courted to bring Robby’s Recovery Center to fruition, was alienated enough by the decision to cease managing and sever its ties entirely with the establishment at 538 W. Liberty Street.
Initially met with protests from the neighborhood, Robby’s Recovery Center had been hosting meetings and offering resources for people struggling with addiction since it opened last summer. There have been about 4,000 registered visits for 20 weekly support group meetings. It was opened and operated mostly with a government grant obtained by the Medina County Court of Common Pleas, which would help refer individuals in its drug court to Robby’s just down the street.
Ushered in now will be a restaurant and culinary school called Serenite designed by renowned chef Brandon Chrostowski, who founded Edwin’s Leadership Restaurant Institute in Shaker Heights more than a decade ago. Edwin’s hires and trains ex-convicts and has seen great success. Serenite will work in tandem with the courts, like Edwin’s does, but there is no apparent focus on individuals in recovery.
A common question many had when Robby’s Recovery Center was still in the works was, “What happens when the county’s grant money runs out?”
That can be answered with another question: Is a restaurant with a liquor license more lucrative than a simple meeting hall? Hell yes it is.
But is it morally and ethically appropriate? Depending on who you ask, the jury’s still out on that, but regardless, how it has unfolded is questionable at best.
“Judge (Joyce) Kimbler states that the opposition is not seeing the full breadth of this,” stated Robby’s Voice founder Rob Brandt, who formed Robby’s Voice five years ago after his son, Robby, died of an overdose. “Maybe not, but this is not about vision, but rather values.”
“The decision to serve alcohol as part of a recovery center is simply outside of our core values.”
It’s outside of most reputable recovery centers’ values, quite frankly.
County officials, numerous times on the record before Robby’s Recovery Center opened, used Edwin’s as an example of how the space could be used, so this decision shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
What’s surprising is that Robby’s Voice seemed to be used as a guise to bring initial credibility to the facility before pulling out the rug and installing a potential money-maker.
Brandt said now his organization will begin looking for another location in town to house meetings and activities, but as of press time, that was not in place.
Not to discount Chef Chrostowski and what he has done with Edwin’s – it’s a truly fantastic concept – but mixing alcohol and substance recovery makes no sense. That’s on the county.
Sure, individuals in recovery looking to enter the culinary industry are almost certain to be exposed to alcoholic beverages on the job. Serenite will also feature a non-drinking section. That’s great.
But it seems the county has strayed from the original intentions of the tavern formerly known as Robby’s Recovery Center – or at least strayed from what the community was originally sold on: bringing addiction-centered resources to a region struggling with addiction.
“Our first priority was, is and always will be the wellbeing of those searching for recovery,” Brandt stated, “and we will continue to work toward that reality.”
Read more coverage inside.
Hershel heaves the coin
Worth noting: the man who flipped the coin as Super Bowl LII’s honorary captain Feb. 4 has a bit of a local tie.
It was World War II hero Hershel “Woody” Williams, a decorated Marine and native of West Virginia who is the last living soldier to receive the nation’s highest valor award from serving in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a Marine. It has been reported Williams used a flamethrower to take down several enemy pillboxes and was wounded by a piece of shrapnel in the process.
In June 2016, Williams appeared in nearby York Township to cut the ribbon for the groundbreaking of the Gold Star Families Memorial at the township’s park and came again for its ribbon cutting in November 2016. This monument, like others throughout the country, honors the families of those who have lost loved ones in service and was constructed here thanks to the efforts of the Hershel “Woody” Williams Foundation.
“This I believe is the real America,” Williams said at the York ceremony. “This is what it’s all about ... to come together in love and respect to honor and pay tribute to those who made it possible for us to be here.”
Mickey Kennedy, of Medina, coordinated the project on behalf of the Williams Foundation. He initially lobbied the city of Medina to put the memorial on or near Public Square.
Contact me
As always, I look forward to hearing from you and will gladly accept news tips at kmcmanus@thepostnewspapers.com.
Make it a great week, Medina.
Otherwise, it sounds pretty asinine.
Last week, nonprofit Robby’s Voice, which county court leaders originally courted to bring Robby’s Recovery Center to fruition, was alienated enough by the decision to cease managing and sever its ties entirely with the establishment at 538 W. Liberty Street.
Initially met with protests from the neighborhood, Robby’s Recovery Center had been hosting meetings and offering resources for people struggling with addiction since it opened last summer. There have been about 4,000 registered visits for 20 weekly support group meetings. It was opened and operated mostly with a government grant obtained by the Medina County Court of Common Pleas, which would help refer individuals in its drug court to Robby’s just down the street.
Ushered in now will be a restaurant and culinary school called Serenite designed by renowned chef Brandon Chrostowski, who founded Edwin’s Leadership Restaurant Institute in Shaker Heights more than a decade ago. Edwin’s hires and trains ex-convicts and has seen great success. Serenite will work in tandem with the courts, like Edwin’s does, but there is no apparent focus on individuals in recovery.
A common question many had when Robby’s Recovery Center was still in the works was, “What happens when the county’s grant money runs out?”
That can be answered with another question: Is a restaurant with a liquor license more lucrative than a simple meeting hall? Hell yes it is.
But is it morally and ethically appropriate? Depending on who you ask, the jury’s still out on that, but regardless, how it has unfolded is questionable at best.
“Judge (Joyce) Kimbler states that the opposition is not seeing the full breadth of this,” stated Robby’s Voice founder Rob Brandt, who formed Robby’s Voice five years ago after his son, Robby, died of an overdose. “Maybe not, but this is not about vision, but rather values.”
“The decision to serve alcohol as part of a recovery center is simply outside of our core values.”
It’s outside of most reputable recovery centers’ values, quite frankly.
County officials, numerous times on the record before Robby’s Recovery Center opened, used Edwin’s as an example of how the space could be used, so this decision shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
What’s surprising is that Robby’s Voice seemed to be used as a guise to bring initial credibility to the facility before pulling out the rug and installing a potential money-maker.
Brandt said now his organization will begin looking for another location in town to house meetings and activities, but as of press time, that was not in place.
Not to discount Chef Chrostowski and what he has done with Edwin’s – it’s a truly fantastic concept – but mixing alcohol and substance recovery makes no sense. That’s on the county.
Sure, individuals in recovery looking to enter the culinary industry are almost certain to be exposed to alcoholic beverages on the job. Serenite will also feature a non-drinking section. That’s great.
But it seems the county has strayed from the original intentions of the tavern formerly known as Robby’s Recovery Center – or at least strayed from what the community was originally sold on: bringing addiction-centered resources to a region struggling with addiction.
“Our first priority was, is and always will be the wellbeing of those searching for recovery,” Brandt stated, “and we will continue to work toward that reality.”
Read more coverage inside.
Hershel heaves the coin
Worth noting: the man who flipped the coin as Super Bowl LII’s honorary captain Feb. 4 has a bit of a local tie.
It was World War II hero Hershel “Woody” Williams, a decorated Marine and native of West Virginia who is the last living soldier to receive the nation’s highest valor award from serving in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a Marine. It has been reported Williams used a flamethrower to take down several enemy pillboxes and was wounded by a piece of shrapnel in the process.
In June 2016, Williams appeared in nearby York Township to cut the ribbon for the groundbreaking of the Gold Star Families Memorial at the township’s park and came again for its ribbon cutting in November 2016. This monument, like others throughout the country, honors the families of those who have lost loved ones in service and was constructed here thanks to the efforts of the Hershel “Woody” Williams Foundation.
“This I believe is the real America,” Williams said at the York ceremony. “This is what it’s all about ... to come together in love and respect to honor and pay tribute to those who made it possible for us to be here.”
Mickey Kennedy, of Medina, coordinated the project on behalf of the Williams Foundation. He initially lobbied the city of Medina to put the memorial on or near Public Square.
Contact me
As always, I look forward to hearing from you and will gladly accept news tips at kmcmanus@thepostnewspapers.com.
Make it a great week, Medina.
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