A man put a cooler out for town workers each year. His wife is picking up the tradition

Svetlana Shkolnikova | NorthJersey

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NEW MILFORD — Some eight years ago, during a heat wave much like the one enveloping the state now, Charlie Poveromo began an annual tradition.

It was spontaneous: Poveromo, then a bartender at Grissini restaurant in Englewood Cliffs, saw his local garbagemen looking pale and sweaty and jumped into action.

He ran into his house, grabbed a jug of water from his fridge and told his wife to bring the plastic cups. He ushered the men into the shade.

That afternoon, on his only day off that week, Poveromo went to ShopRite and bought cases of bottled water, bags of ice and a cooler.

From then on, Charlie’s Cooler would stand in front of his home every summer, five days a week, as a gesture of gratitude for the borough employees toiling outside.

Poveromo will not be putting out his cooler this summer. He died of a heart attack in March. But his widow, Velvet Poveromo, will.

“I had to step into his shoes,” Velvet Poveromo said. “Once the weather started getting warm, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, the water bottles.’ I had to do it. It was his tradition, and I had to honor him.”

Two weeks ago, she put Charlie’s Cooler back into use. Her husband’s photo is now attached to it, as is a handwritten note that reads, “In case you were unaware, my husband, Charlie, passed away suddenly at age 57 on March 10th. I will do my best to continue to provide bottled water.”

She wrote about the initiative on Facebook, and within days, Charlie’s Cooler became a hashtag and a call to pay it forward.

Charlie’s Coolers have popped up in Paramus, Ramsey, Norwood, Oradell, upstate New York and as far away as Wyoming, Velvet Poveromo said.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” she said. “Every person who does it, it’s a tribute to him.”

Velvet Poveromo anticipates many more to follow. Her husband’s funeral services were attended by more than 1,000 people, she said.

Those who knew Charlie Poveromo from Grissini considered him a loyal friend who also happened to be a favorite bartender.

Those who did not know him likely saw his smiling face on local and national media after the restaurant’s staff mistakenly believed it had won a $900 million Powerball jackpot in 2016.

It was one of the biggest thrills of his life and one of his biggest disappointments, said Michael De Vincenzi, the restaurant’s general manager. But he went on with his life.

Last year, Poveromo expanded his cooler menu to include Gatorade and orange juice. Velvet Poveromo has added breakfast foods — coffee cake, pound cake — to the mix.

“It’s simple, but it means something,” she said. “It’s the simple things that matter.”

Email: shkolnikova@northjersey.com