Lock and Dam eatery honored

By Bruce Karnick

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Twin Cities radio station KS-95 and North American Banking Company recently held a contest where listeners could nominate small businesses for their Small Business Helping Hand Partnership. The prize for the winner? A $10,000 promotional campaign with KS95. The nominations were to be from listeners about a small business in their community that could benefit from the station.

Many listeners immediately nominated Lock and Dam as a way to thank them for their kindness and generosity during the COVID shutdown. When restaurants first closed, Lock and Dam Eatery co-owner Jennifer Melechio had caught wind of friends in Texas who were helping kids in need. That

Photo by Bruce Karnick spawned the idea of how her and her husband Bernardo could do something in Hastings for kids.

They started providing lunch for kids that relied on school-provided lunches to eat. That led to a Thanksgiving and Christmas meal. In the nearly two years, Lock and Dam delivered nearly 5,000 meals for people in need.

“We had spaghetti, we had tacos, we had hot dogs, you know, it was just kind of a nice change. Some people donated when they could, which was great, and some people came four days a week, which is fine. You know, that's what this was about taking care of the youth because they're our future right? And, you know, there was no judging and I just I really think that we all could be a little better sometimes,” Melechio said.

The biggest piece of the success that they had was because of the Hastings community. Members of the community stepped up to help those in need, Lock and Dam provided the vessel to make it happen. They also wanted to see the restaurant and the Melechios get recognized for it.

“In all honestly, I don't do this to be recognized. It's very nice to be don't get me wrong. I mean, we all want to be recognized for what we do. But when you give back, when you do stuff, that's not what it should be about. But as a human or a person that believes in doing good, recognition is not why you do it,” added Melechio.