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By Jennifer McDaniel

For the Enterprise

Fifteen employees of the Cumberland Pizza Hut are now without jobs after upper management unexpectedly shut the longtime restaurant down on Wednesday, Dec. 20, just five days before Christmas.

The popular restaurant, which opened in the early 1970s, had become a beloved Tri-City landmark and gathering place would be permanently shut down until a staff meeting was called Wednesday evening and upper management made the announcement.

The community is rallying to the cause of helping the displaced employees, who said they are worried about having enough food in the upcoming months.

Several residents and organizations, like the local charity group The Empty Stocking Fund, are already reaching out to the employees and their families with help.

Leon Oraelosi, who had worked as the Cumberland Pizza Hut’s manager, said he and the rest of the staff had been encouraged by the support shown by the community.

“We knew we loved this community,” said Oraelosi, who had worked for the Cumberland Pizza Hut on and off for the past eight years. “We have known how much we are loved by the community. We all have been saying how touched we’ve been by everyone reaching and supporting us. To the ones who worked there, this feels like a loss of a loved one. Not one of us did not love being at work and seeing our customers.”

The vast outpouring of support from the community was also evident with hundreds of posts on social made about the Cumberland Pizza Hut shutdown.

Community members posted they are upset with how the work crew was treated just days before Christmas, and are also saddened to lose the beloved eating establishment that has long been a nostalgic fixture for people living in The Tri-Cities or who grew up in the area.

Many, like former Cumberland resident Len Allen Ison who now resides in Jefferson City, Tenn., took to social media with their fond memories of the eating establishment, describing the Cumberland Pizza Hut as “the heartbeat of their little town.”

“It’s where we shared laughter over games of Galaga and slices of pizza,” Ison posted on the Cumberland High School Class of 88 Facebook page. “It’s where we met up and jumped in someone else’s car, forming friendships, affinities, and sometimes soul connections … Many journeys came full circle there, physically netting me no mileage, but helped grow me emotionally and soulfully in ways that I could never describe.”

Besides the emotional attachment to the restaurant, Cumberland Mayor Charles Raleigh said there would be some economic impact to the city because of the closing. The mayor, who has worked hard to revitalize the town in the wake of the area’s coal industry decline, said he hoped the Pizza Hut shutdown would not dishearten residents about Cumberland’s future.

“I was shocked to hear the news. It’s a great loss to our community,” Raleigh said. “I really think it’s a mistake on the company’s part since our town is finally showing some growth over the last few years. It will affect the city slightly with revenue from water, sewer and garbage loss as well as privilege license.”

Organizations and individuals almost immediately started rallying to the cause of offering assistance to the 15 displaced Pizza Hut employees and their families when word got out they lost their jobs with no warning at Christmas. Linda Sim with The Tri-City Empty Stocking Fund, a local charity that helps families with toy drives and food boxes during the holidays, said her group quickly developed a plan to help just moments after they heard what happened to the employees. Sim said The Empty Stocking Fund had just completed its annual food and gift distribution of 600 families when word came to them of the Cumberland Pizza Hut shutdown.

“God had blessed us abundantly this year, and also, we had some Food City certificates for meat and food, so we put those with the gifts,” said Sim. “We bought turkeys that went along with the food certificates. Then, we wanted to brighten up the families’ Christmas, so we put together little gift baskets and an empty stocking ornament found with the help of Buffy Henry at Buff’s Bows & Gifts.”

The food and gifts were handed out to the displaced employees at Sazon Mexican Restaurant in Cumberland on Friday.

Oraelosi said the shutdown of his restaurant came as a complete surprise because he had just been told by the district manager that his managerial position was safe for the next year. Oraelosi also told the media that business had been good, sales were on the rise, and employee morale was at an all-time high.

“I worked with a lot of good crews at Pizza Hut,” Oraelosi said. “This crew was special. They were/are family. This Pizza Hut is part of the community and not just a store. I met my wife here. We have helped those in need. People came here just to better their day. So, it was jarring, hurtful, and callous. The only thing that was considered was the economics. Their reason was economically thinking, but this store was already on a rebound. That is why it was unexpected. It was not on the decline. It hurt the workers, it hurt this manager, and above all, it hurt the community.”

Oraelosi said what made it even harder for him was that he relocated for the managerial job at Pizza Hut in Cumberland, uprooting his life for the promises made by corporate.

“I moved states for this, left a good-paying factory job to work at a place I love with people I consider family,” Oraelosi said. “I left my brother, who had a stroke a year prior to my sister, so I could build a home here for him.”

Those interested in donating to help with the displaced employees’ living expenses through The Tri-City Empty Stocking Fund may do so by visiting their website at heritagemin.org or donating with PayPal. Checks to The Empty Stocking Fund and earmarked for the Cumberland Pizza Hut employees can be mailed to  P.O. Box 821 Lynch, KY 40855.   They can also be contacted at (606) 733-0245 for further information.