After Being Furloughed, Pittsburgh Man Creates Soup Club To Make Ends Meet And Help Community
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local man furloughed from his job back in March is finding a way to make ends meet while helping out the community.
Brian Annapolen worked at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh as the food and beverage director before he was furloughed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The single father of three needed a job so he decided to combine his love of cooking with giving back.
That's when the Pittsburgh Soup Club was born. Annapolen spent part of his Thanksgiving day making some home-cooked deliveries. One of those stops was his friend's house in Ross Township.
"I haven't had this one yet. His butternut squash is really good. I've been looking forward to this one," said Samantha Murphy.
Murphy is just one of the many friends who Annapolen cooks up soup for on a weekly basis.
"Friends in the neighborhood were really tired of cooking. All the restaurants were closed. The only option to get food was the grocery store. They asked if I could cook for them a few times a week," said Annapolen.
On top of that, he created a Facebook page called Pittsburgh Soup Club.
"I went on Facebook and made a Facebook page, got some pictures and recipes up, and woke up the next day and had about 1,800 emails in my inbox," said Annapolen.
That's when his new business took off. In addition to personal home deliveries, he sets up drop-off sites all over the city.
However, that's not all. He also whipped up Thanksgiving meals for families on Thursday, including a family in Cranberry.
"I'm working remote, which seems like I would have more time to cook, but for some reason, it seems like I have less because there's not a good start and stop to the workday," said Chris Prince.
Annapolen delivered the turkey and all the fixings, including a delicious pumpkin pie.
"You're supposed to give back. What an amazing year in a lot of ways," said Annapolen.
KDKA's Amy Wadas asked Annapolen if he plans on going back to his job at the Omni William Penn if he gets the call. He said he will. But he will still run Pittsburgh Soup Club on the side with some help.
To learn more about the Pittsburgh Soup Club, click here.