Milford eatery has jawdropping message on front door

A sign on the front door of Flames Mediterranean & American Grill in Milford offers free sandwiches for those without money. A sign on the front door of Flames Mediterranean & American Grill in Milford offers free sandwiches for those without money. Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Milford eatery has jawdropping message on front door 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

MILFORD — Flames Mediterranean & American Grill has a sign on the front door that’s shocking for a restaurant.

The sign, in black marker on printer paper, says: “If you don’t have money, come in and grab a sandwich free.”

It’s not a gimmick and owner Walied Hanaif isn’t seeking publicity — the sign was only noticed by a reporter in passing. He simply doesn’t want anyone in the area to go hungry.

“It’s only food,” Hanaif said of his giveaways. “It makes me feel good and letting someone grab a sandwich here and there is not going to make or break me.”

Hanaif got some of the inspiration from an unlikely source: a local homeless man who handed him and his wife a roasted chicken from the grocery store and a big loaf of bread as a “good luck” token while the restaurant was wrapping up construction.

Hanaif, whose popular restaurant on Daniel Street gets a lot of foot traffic, said he was first touched by the homeless man’s gift, then decided to put his offer out there after seeing two people who looked hungry and possibly homeless gazing at the restaurant. He invited them in for a bite to eat, at no charge.

The sign has been up about 10 days and just this week he had a woman who had been in Superior Court in Milford come by for a sandwich.

Something else beautiful happened, he said, when a paying customer left an extra $10 as a pay-it-forward gesture to help fund the next sandwich.

“That made me uplifted,” he said of the donation. “One hand washes the other.”

Asked whether he’s afraid people will start pouring in for free sandwiches, Hanaif said he has “trust” that people won’t falsely represent themselves.

Hanaif, a veteran restaurateur who has owned eateries in New York City before opening the tiny restaurant with lots of flair here five months ago, said he’s never gone hungry himself.

In fact, he grew up middle class and has a mother who always cooked so much that their house was an open door for people to sit at the dinner table. He originally is from Palestine, and moved to the United States from Egypt with his family at about age 13.

With the world becoming “so bad,” as he put it, Hanaif said he wants to add a touch of goodness.

A Muslim, he said there’s too much bigotry these days regarding race, skin color and other superficialities.

“God gave us the gift to see,” he said, but those who can’t see may be a better person because they know not the race or color of the person they meet and therefore don’t judge.

“At the end of the day, we’re all human,” Hanaif said.

As for that homeless man who arrived at 9 p.m. as they were putting finishing touches on the restaurant to open, Hanaif tried to tell him they didn’t need any food, but the man insisted, saying the chicken and bread were for a family and he wished good luck to Hanaif, his wife and kids, who live in Ansonia.

Hanaif finally accepted the food graciously.

That homeless man, who staysnearby, has been back to eat.

“Whatever goes around, comes around,” Hanaif said.

And, he added: “The people of Milford are beautiful.”