Marine Corps Moms: Fran O'Brien's last stand

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April 18, 2006

Fran O'Brien's last stand

For the past years, the fine folks at Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse located in the Capitol Hilton have been hosting Friday night steak dinners for wounded warriors from Walter Reed Hospital. These vets who are adjusting to life after war have significant physical difficulties. Wheelchairs. Prosthetic Limbs. And at Fran O'Brien's, they have a private room where they won't have to deal with stares and whispers. It's a gift to them - no bills are presented at the end of the meal.

From the Washington Post:

They come to the subterranean restaurant, at the corner of 16th and L streets NW in the basement of the Capital Hilton, in volunteer's vans and trucks. They're carefully wheeled down the stairs or slowly negotiate the steps on crutches. It has become a tradition so beloved among veterans that Garry Trudeau featured the dinners in his Doonesbury comic strip.

Jim Mayer, a veteran who works at the Department of Veterans Affairs and who helped start the steak dinner tradition, is concerned that the hotel wants to eliminate the spectacle of hundreds of severely disabled soldiers coming in and out of its building or that the restaurant's repeated requests for a new elevator or escalator to accommodate them was too much.

But Hilton spokeswoman Lisa Cole said the hotel's position on the lease has nothing to do with the dinners. She said its decision was based strictly on business considerations.

O'Brien's owners knew their lease was coming up. But after months of negotiations, the hotel chain told them this week that it would not be renewed. The lease expires May 1.

The negotiations included repeated promises by the Hilton that there would be no problem with renewing the least. Now, just weeks before the expiration date, they've made a business decision. And the ones that will be most affected by this are the heroes who, one night a week, can enjoy a sense of normalcy that the best hospital in the world could not match.

Retired Army Staff Sgt. Michael Cain will never forget the porterhouse he had on his first night at O'Brien's, in 2003 after five months in the hospital. "It beat the hell out of hospital food," said Cain, who lost part of a leg in an explosion in Tikrit.

Although the Hilton has (in response to a flood of e-mails and phone calls) offered to continue the Friday night dinners, they don't get it. It's not the food. It's not the location. It's a former Vietnam vet with a big heart who was determined to make a difference for these guys. And the way the Hilton made and communicated their business decision leaves a lot to be desired, from a number of perspectives - public relations, business, and humanitarian.

Andi from Andi's World has been following the situation and will continue to update us. Do consider adding your voice to those who have an opinion on how the Hilton handled this situation. Be polite but be heard.

Dan Boyle(212) 838-1558

Brian Kellaher (202) 393-1000

Posted by Deb at April 18, 2006 12:13 PM

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