Nino Vendome's Message: From Canal Street to the World!

At the bar of Nino’s Restaurant on Canal Street, you spot strange misfits at a bar—lollipops, Fritos, croissants, cookies, muffins, sub sandwiches. That’s because Nino has transformed his daily restaurant into a haven for policemen, firemen, and rescue workers who crowd in after brutal shifts at Ground Zero.

The restaurant, closed to the public since September 12, is a clamorous hub of greetings, conversations, laments, joking, laughing, cheering. Yet amid the noise, three exhausted police officers nod off at a table, one with head in hands, the other two sitting up, heads rolling side to side. “These officers normally work eight-hour days,” says officer Eddie Carrasco. “Since the attack many are working 18-hour shifts. And there is no day off.”

Among the commotion, owner Nino Vendome buzzes constantly, rapping incessantly into an ear piece and to several people vying for his attention. He never takes a minute for himself, but manages to shake hands with the many who eagerly thank him. Grabbing a second to wolf down a sandwich, he paces in and out of the restaurant, coordinating a dozen activities at once. As the philosopher Maxwell Maltz once said, “If you want to get anything done, ask a busy man to do it.”

As if Nino isn’t already on overload as real-estate developer of Vendome Group Real Estate. He may be on the verge of sealing a deal with master architect Philip Johnson to erect The Seasons—a “Habitable Sculpture” or radically designed, multifaceted 26-story high-rise on Spring and Washington Streets in lower Manhattan. It’s a deal not without raging controversy, since the project is dramatically at odds with the zoning laws of the neighborhood’s conventional brick and concrete style. “The community board has unanimously opposed the Habitable Sculpture,” says Vendome. “They want it to be shorter. So I said to them, ‘This is a work of art. You can’t make it shorter. How would the Statue of Liberty look without its arm and head?’ I want to do something unique and dramatic, with redeeming social value to the community.”

Other Manhattan neighborhoods might drool for a Philip Johnson creation, but Vendome is determined to prevail in the arduous red-tape battle and build it on Spring and Washington Streets. “I started my career right in the middle of the block,” he says. “I opened a sandwich shop here when I was 21 ... 28 years ago.”

On a buffet table at his restaurant sit trays of definitely atypical cafeteria food: juicy salmon filets, baked ziti, giant meatballs, french bread, rice pilaf, carrot and chocolate fudge cake, not to mention cereal boxes, fruit, and an array of drinks. “What am I going to feed them, hot dogs?” Nino says between chomps of a sub sandwich. “This could be their last meal.”

Nino’s, along with other local restaurants, have joined forces, thanks to their resources and volunteers who cook, serve, and clean up. Choice Manhattan eateries have pledged provisions to Nino’s, including Tavern on the Green, Cipriani, Barolo, Bistro les Amis, Café Noir, Felix, Le Streghe, Famous Ben’s Pizza, Grand Street Deli, and Pao.

Nino’s work doesn’t stop here. Outside his hot spot stand 15 pieces of tall plywood and plasterboards, with signs proclaiming: “Tell your story for the world to read.” Individual sagas, inspirational messages, blessings for victims and rescue workers in a dozen languages, and missing-person photos blanket the freeform work of art and soul, headed for display in Washington, then around the globe. Vendome also calls himself “patron to the arts,” and has added monumental sculpture to the mix: “The Peace Angel” by artist Lin Evola guards the front of the place: the 7,000 pound, 15-foot-high sculpture is forged of melted nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction.

The spirit of America is tirelessly at work on Canal Street. The restaurant has been open 24/7 since the tragedy, and Vendome plans to keep it that way for the next year—at a cost of $10 million! Volunteers have trekked from as far away as Oklahoma and California: One woman drove in from Cincinnati to deliver a van full of child-baked sweets, then turned around and sped home! Chefs from Windows On The World cook till they drop. “It’s my duty to use every resource to help the workers, the city, and the nation,” Vendome says. “I’m giving back to the people who keep me and my family safe. We’ve made a commitment to keep our doors open until our city is rebuilt and healed.”

Send the word from Canal Street to the world. Volunteer your services by calling 212-431-5625, make donations by calling 212-223-4063, or visit the web site at www.ninosrestaurant911fund.org. “Let’s show our appreciation for the heroes on the front lines,” says Vendome.