Mexico restaurant makes meals for the homebound

By: Dave Faries, Editor
Posted 1/4/21

It started with two people who wanted to give back in some small way.

So Stacey Conklin, owner of the Mexico restaurant Stacey’s Place, got together with Alexis Burnett, who owns The Gift Bar on …

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Mexico restaurant makes meals for the homebound

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It started with two people who wanted to give back in some small way.

So Stacey Conklin, owner of the Mexico restaurant Stacey’s Place, got together with Alexis Burnett, who owns The Gift Bar on the downtown square. The arrangement was simple. Each time a customer spent $50 at Burnett’s shop, the two would buy a meal for a homebound person in the city.

Soon Conklin began matching The Gift Bar donation. Now Stacey’s Place has a list of 120 individuals and couples that they deliver food to once a week.

“One of my customers caught wind of what we were doing and gave $50 for meals,” Conklin explained. Donations began rolling in from there and the project grew.

Conklin and her staff do the cooking and make delivery runs, making stops at Berkshire Apartments, Teal Lake Senior Living and other facilities.

The process was difficult in the early stages of the pandemic. The restaurant was limited to take out only and working with a reduced staff. They started on the meals after closing time. Conklin rewarded staff members who made delivery runs by filling their gas tanks.

With the dining room open again and the kitchen back at full staff, they fit in food preparation for the homebound list as part of their normal routine – normal, except that employees will come help out on their days off.

“The smiles, that’s what gets me,” said Kriston Moon, who works in the kitchen at Stacey’s Place and delivers to the Springdale and Lakeview area. “They’re so thankful.”

Staff members wear masks and gloves when making their rounds. They also maintain social distancing. But they do spend time talking to the recipients – people they get to know well because each person drives the same route.

Those who receive meals often respond by putting their thanks into words, sending cards to the restaurant.

“I just sit at my desk and cry when I read them,” Conklin said. “There are a lot of people out there who don’t have family to check on them.”

Moon observes that the people who receive meals often ask if they can contribute to add one more homebound resident to the list. A man at the Missouri Veterans Home gave $100 to Conklin to help out.

That was his first donation. Since then he’s written checks totaling $2,100 for the project.

“I think the community just got together to help,” Moon said.

Conklin intends to keep it up as long as necessary.

“We’ve formed a lot of relationships with people we didn’t know,” she said.


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