GRESHAM, Ore. — “We have a lot of really good tenants,” said apartment manager Rob Mager. “A lot of them have been there 20 years.”
Mager reached out to Bumpers Grill & Bar in Fairview to prepare and deliver around 225 meals to his tenants over four nights.
“It's a nice gesture,” said Dean Hurford who owns Bumpers with his wife Marcia. “I was like 'Ok, how do we simplify that?' And [Mager] was like, 'No, I don't want to simply that, I want prime rib, I want great dinners!’”
Mager said he wanted to show appreciation to his tenants.
“At least one night they don't have to cook or do dishes and they can have a little restaurant meal,” he said.
On Tuesday evening, residents of the Benford Court Apartments in Gresham received the free dinners: a selection of prime rib, chicken cordon bleu and cheeseburgers.
Though Mager manages apartments now, he was for several years a seventh-generation chef. He still holds restaurants close to his heart. Yes, it's that Mager family. He is the son of Rheinlander icon Horst Mager.
“They're hurting quite a bit,” said Rob. “There's a lot of people we know, some of them are tenants, a lot of them are family, who work in the restaurant business.”
The Hurfords said they appreciated Mager's business.
“It helps immensely,” said Marcia Hurford.
“People have been sticking together but at the same time we're social distancing,” added Dean Hurford.
On Tuesday evening that pandemic paradox played out over over dinner. A great one.
“I'd like to see some people eating on the patio and talking to their neighbor,” said Mager. “That would be a good effect.”