Deachman: A Christmas Day 'melting pot'

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Published Dec 25, 2023 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 4 minute read

Harps Sandhu serves customers at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

When he wants to eat in a restaurant, René Lefebvre typically takes to the streets near the downtown Y, where he lives, and panhandles — panning, he calls it — until he has enough to pay for a meal, often at either the Elgin Street or Bramasole Diner.

On Monday — Christmas Day — Lefebvre was spared that initial bother, as Bramasole cook and manager John Zacher invited the 62-year-old for a free Christmas dinner at the popular Bank Street diner, where Lefebvre says he eats every two or three days.

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“John said, ‘This one’s on us,’ ” said Lefebvre, seated by himself at a table near the front of the restaurant.

Not that the price — $18 for turkey, ham and all the fixings, as well as dessert — was the deciding factor. Lefebvre says he would have paid anyway, but the kind gesture was nonetheless appreciated. Later, he said, he might go home to relax or do a little panning.

Victor Nesrallah performs at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day while René Lefebvre enjoys a warm meal. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Meanwhile, Steve Holst, sporting a bright red cowboy hat, green shirt and red-and-white striped Ottawa Senators scarf, sat at a table in the corner at the back, farthest from the door. It was the same table, he said, where he used to take his breaks when he worked at the diner. That was only for eight months, almost a decade ago, after mental-health issues sent him into a tumble and a hospital, after which Bramasole owner John Balestra threw him a lifeline.

René Lefebvre was treated to a Christmas Day meal at the Bramasole Diner. Photo by Bruce Deachman /Postmedia

“It got me back on my feet and interacting with people,” said Holst. “It got my confidence back.”

It’s not all sunshine all the time. Holst has a couple of estranged adult daughters and two grandchildren that he didn’t expect to see this Christmas. But he wasn’t alone; as he awaited his meal, he’d propped up his phone and was enjoying a video chat with his fiancée, Kanene Ugbaja, in Nigeria. The rest of his Christmas Day, he said, would be filled with NFL games.

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Harps Sandhu serves customers at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

At an adjacent table, Clint Iverson and Sara Martin, and their 18-month-old son, Calvin Iverson, had just ordered their breakfast, for the second straight year taking advantage of the fact that Bramasole — which Clint describes as “our own personal little Cheers” — had opted to open on Christmas Day.

“We’ve been coming here almost every weekend since I was pregnant with Calvin,” said Sara. “We come here because we love it.” For them, breakfast at the diner was almost the calm before the rest of their Christmas — dinner that night at Sara’s mother’s home, followed by an onslaught of children at their Overbook home on Boxing Day.

Martin Smith and Jeannie Benwell enjoy a Christmas Day breakfast at the Bramasole Diner before going home to prepare dinner for friends. Photo by Bruce Deachman /Postmedia

Over four hours on Monday, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the booths, tables and counter hosted a revolving parade of people and stories. Martin Smith and Jeannie Bernwell, wearing Christmas sweaters, were having breakfast before heading home to make dinner for friends, where Smith would change sweaters for the one that lit up. At another table, Julie Levesque and Andy Atkins just wanted to find somewhere to have breakfast. “The bacon is what brings me here,” half-joked Levesque.

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Don Carter was the Bramasole Diner’s first customer on Christmas Day. Photo by Bruce Deachman /Postmedia

Don Carter arrived early from his Sandy Hill home, and waited almost half an hour before the diner opened. “I live alone, but I never stay home all day,” he said. “I can cook, but it’s not the same. It’s nice to talk to people.”

David Kirk, who later in the day planned to take his sequined Christmas ball cap to Pembroke for a family gathering, described the diner’s clientele as “a melting pot.”

“It’s all walks of life,” he said, “good, bad or otherwise.”

Manager John Zacher prepares a warm turkey meal at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

This was just the second year that Bramasole opened on Christmas Day, with Zacher and server Harps Sandhu, neither with family in town, opting to spend another day at work.

“We weren’t going anywhere, so we decided we may as well do something,” said Zacher. “And there’s a real sense of community here, because we’ve made it that way. There are people who don’t have family, but there are also couples, and people with kids.”

And just as the smell of turkey, stuffing and coffee wafted throughout the room, so too did the feeling of goodwill. At one end of the diner counter sat a small pile of wrapped presents and a collection tin, with a sign urging customers to “donate and choose a gift,” with proceeds going to help the less fortunate.

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It was a busy lunch at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

At one point, Sandhu hugged a favourite customer. Zacher took a moment from the grill to shake hands and greet another. Musician Victor Nesrallah, meanwhile, who only learned on Saturday that the diner would be open on Monday, showed up with his guitar to perform. “I wanted to do it just to share,” he said. “To share what I have, share what I’ve been doing for a long time.”

And so he did, most poignantly, perhaps, with a song he simply titled Christmas Song. “I still believe in Christmas,” he sang. “I still believe in hope. I still believe in peace and joy for all the world. I still believe in Christmas time.”

Harps Sandhu serves a turkey dinner to David Kirk at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia David Kirk enjoys a cup of coffee at the Bramasole Diner on Christmas Day while musician Victor Nesrallah performs. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

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