AKRON, N.Y. — Recruiting and in some cases, just finding a way to keep operating has been a challenge for many veterans organizations like the American Legion and VFW.
One American Legion Post in Erie County has taken the business public and thinks they’ve got something that can work on several levels to keep the doors open.
Over the last six years, the mission was clear for L.L. Tillman American Legion Post 900 in Akron — find a way to not rely so heavily on membership alone.
"Every day we try and come up with something to train, bring people in," said general manager and ladies auxiliary member Charlene Smith. "They're from all over. And so then if they come in, that just spreads the word further out, and it just keeps going from there."
It's still acting as a headquarters for the Akron Legion as well as their VFW.
"The post is no longer where the good old boys get together at the bar, you know, so we're trying to make it a family atmosphere," said financial officer as well as American Legion and VFW member Brian Murray. "We're trying to put a totally different spin on what the post is today compared to what it was years ago."
The main source of income is a restaurant open limited hours but with endless possibilities. The initial investment is roughly $100,000 for everything from a new cooler, renovations and a revamped kitchen headed by executive chef Paul Ziolo.
"I saw that, you know, the Legion wanted to open up a restaurant and I was on board with it. I fell in love with the place," said Ziolo. "It's a small town, small community, we all stick together and that's what we need to do."
With a background in fine dining and a team with community connections, they’ve seen a solid first six months.
"There hasn't been a day where I had a second to myself, you know, to breathe. It's been nonstop," he added. "We go through when we do our beef on weck for dinner on a Friday night. I'm going through about 20-30 pounds just on a Friday night in four hours. That's a lot of roast beef."
Putting everything together has had to be well timed out, executed and sometimes an uphill battle.
"It's hard. I mean, we've gone through so many resumes [and] made so many phone calls."
On several levels, it's worth the effort for the folks in Akron, and potentially the future of the post.
"We want to show off what we're doing. And we gained members in the process? Great. If we don't, at least they came in to see what we're doing," said Ziolo.
The team thinks posts and other community organizations could benefit from their story.
"You got to go through and look to see what you have," he said. "If it's feasible and you know, you can make it happen. You got to go for it. You can't help but get teary-eyed, because we worked so hard to get where we are today. And it's just it's a hard passion alone."
The leadership of the organizations now hosted by the Akron post say they’ve seen a lot of success with the model on trips to Florida.
Another part of future plans is to expand the property and be able to hold larger events not only benefiting the veterans but also the community.