What? Employees at 13 Nursing Homes in Hampton Roads and a Hospital ER** Will Receive Free Fresh Pizzas From 6 Local Restaurants*, Delivered by Fire Trucks in 3 of the Cities***, Courtesy of Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment

When? Wednesday June 3 from 11am-Noon

Why? To Support Restaurants and Nursing Homes Hard Hit by COVID-19

Where? Best Places for Media Coverage are Norfolk or Portsmouth. Crews can meet at restaurants (Azalea Inn/Norfolk or Amici’s/Portsmouth) and follow to nursing homes

Who? Randy Wright (Norfolk) and Joel Rubin (Portsmouth) representing Queen of Virginia, Local Elected Officials, Representatives of Restaurants and Nursing Facilities

At lunchtime on Wednesday June 3, Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment, Powered by Pace-O-Matic, will boost beleaguered small businesses while feeding the staffs at 13 nursing homes and one hospital emergency room in Hampton Roads.

Dubbed “Pizza for Providers,” the company is partnering with six restaurants in the region, which until their dining rooms had to close due to the coronavirus were popular places to eat, drink and play Queen games. On June 3, those establishments will prepare pizza to feed day shift employees at the nursing homes and hospital ER. Queen of Virginia Skill is covering all costs to support the restaurants that have suffered financially more than any other segment of the economy because of government ordered restrictions.

***Fire departments in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News have agreed to deliver the pizzas to the health care facilities in their cities. The restaurants will thank the firefighters by providing free pizzas to their station houses.

*Participating restaurants are:

• Azalea Inn in Norfolk (2344 E. Little Creek Road)
• Chicho’s in Chesapeake (1400 Kempsville Road) and VA Beach (2135 General Booth Blvd.)
• Anna’s in Hampton (2845 N. Armistead Avenue); will make for Newport News too
• Chicho’s in Virginia Beach (2820 Pacific Avenue)
• Amicis & Baron’s in Suffolk (157 East Washington St.)
• Amicis & Baron’s in Portsmouth (611 Airline Blvd.)

News media can meet the fire engines at a restaurant and follow to nursing homes or just at nursing homes where staff will receive the food and take it into the buildings. No one else is allowed into the facilities.

** The nursing homes/hospital ER are:

• Province Place, Province Place – 6403 Granby St. in Norfolk
• DePaul Hospital Emergency Room, adjacent to Province Place in Norfolk
• Autumn Care – 715 Argyll St. in Chesapeake
• Sentara Rehab – 776 Oak Grove Rd. in Chesapeake
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help – 4560 Princess Anne Road –  (11 am) in Virginia Beach
• Beth Sholom Village – 6401 Auburn Dr. (11:30) in Virginia Beach
• Coliseum Convalescent – 305 Marcella Rd. in Hampton
• Northampton Convalescent – 1028 Topping Lane in Hampton
• Autumn Care – 3610 Winchester Dr. in Portsmouth
• Portsmouth Health and Rehab – 900 London Blvd. in Portsmouth
• Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center – 4775 Bridge Road in Suffolk
• Autumn Care – 2580 Pruden Blvd. in Suffolk
• The Newport – 11141 Warwick Blvd. in Newport News
• Francis – 4 Ridgewood Parkway in Newport News

“Queen of Virginia owes a great deal to the restaurants, bars and convenience stores that have hosted our games,” says Randy Wright, a former Norfolk City Councilman and consultant to the skill gaming company. “We want to help them while also assisting some very hard working employees in senior care facilities who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic crisis.”

On April 22, the General Assembly voted to delay for a year a ban on skill games and instead tax the terminals to generate revenue for a special COVID19 Relief Fund to be administered by Governor Ralph Northam. In announcing the fund, the Governor said one beneficiary would be nursing homes. “A number of nursing homes have become ‘hot spots’ for coronavirus cases and in some cases deaths,” says Joel Rubin, Public Relations Manager for Queen of Virginia and a past president of a Virginia Beach non-profit nursing home. “That has put an extra burden on their employees to protect residents, many of whom are very vulnerable because of their weakened conditions, as well as themselves. They are true heroes, and this situation is far from over.”

“Once Virginians can return safely and in numbers to their favorite bars and restaurants,” says Randy Wright, “we hope they will have a meal and play our games, knowing that 84% of the tax collected on the terminals will benefit the COVID-19 Relief Fund with an additional 12% going to the city or county where the bars and restaurants are located.”

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