Arena, other local businesses supporting nation’s troops

“The troops do so much for us, and, with Memorial Day coming, we wanted to do something special,” said Porsha Gray, assistant manager of Arena Sports Grill.

All this week, up until Sunday, Arena will be having a canned food drive for local food banks. Each person that comes in with a donation will receive a 10 percent discount on their food bill.

“We’re having the food drive because we think that fits into the spirit that America has, to sacrifice and help others,” said Gray. “It just feels right to do this.”

Sunday, May 22, will be all about supporting the troops. Starting at 8:30 a.m., the restaurant will be having an all-day car wash with all the donations going to care packages for the troops. With a donation, Arena will also be providing a light breakfast buffet and drink specials that include $3 Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and $2.50 domestic beers with Clamato. Along with the car wash, they will also be holding a raffle with gift cards and discounts provided by other local businesses.

Elizabeth Hernandez, of K’Bella Hair and Salon, is providing a $35 dollar styling as one of the raffle prizes. “For me, this is really important; I have a lot of family members in the service and wanted to give back.”

“We are always open to these things,” said Karen Benedek, owner of K’Bella. “Any way we can support them, we will.”

Some of the other businesses providing raffle prizes are:

• Teakwoods
• Big O Tires
• Yogurt Jungle
• Quiznos
• Water and Ice
• Profex
• Above and Beyond Nails and Spa

“They didn’t have to ask me twice. I gave them a big ‘Yes!’ to this,” said Tim Purvis, service manager of Napa Auto Care. As part of their service donation, the auto care will give away a free 5-quart oil change and vehicle inspection.

Raffle tickets will be $1 each and seven for $5. Gray said she is still contacting other businesses and is hoping for a few more ‘yes’ answers. On top of the raffle, for the day, Arena will be passing out coupons to allow patrons to “buy 1 dozen wings and get another dozen free.”

“I think right now, we all have a sense of pride about what our troops have done,” said Gray. “As a parent, I want my kids to know about what it means to give yourself to something greater and I think this is a good representation of that. More importantly, I want them to know the sacrifices that our service members are doing for our country.”