Tony Robbins swoops in to save nuns’ humble Tenderloin soup kitchen

Tony Robbins (right), motivational speaker and author, is greeted by Mariano Fernandez (left) of San Francisco after Robbins was spotted by locals as he left Fraternite Notre Dame Mary of Nazareth Soup Kitchen after visiting with Sister Mary Valerie and Sister Mary Benedicte (both not shown) to discuss solutions to their eviction on Thursday, February 11, 2016 in San Francisco, Calif. less Tony Robbins (right), motivational speaker and author, is greeted by Mariano Fernandez (left) of San Francisco after Robbins was spotted by locals as he left Fraternite Notre Dame Mary of Nazareth Soup Kitchen ... more Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Tony Robbins swoops in to save nuns’ humble Tenderloin soup kitchen 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

The French nuns who were in danger of being evicted from their dingy little Tenderloin soup kitchen have won a reprieve, thanks to an unlikely benefactor — business coach and media star Tony Robbins.

Under a deal struck Friday, the nuns of the Fraternite Notre Dame Mary of Nazareth Soup Kitchen at 54 Turk St. can stay for a year at their current rent. And the landlord won’t try to evict them.

“This is wonderful — now we don’t have to be in the street,” Sister Mary Valerie said when informed of the deal.

The man who made it happen was Robbins, who flew in for a Bay Area engagement this week and headed for the soup kitchen after reading of the nuns’ plight in The Chronicle. His secret hourlong meeting with them quickly turned from sympathy visit to business seminar to, finally, mutual admiration fest — and at the end of it, Robbins handed them a check for $25,000 to cover their troubles.

‘No more crying?’

Then he kissed the hand of Mary Valerie, gave her a hug and pronounced: “You’re beautiful.” The sister — who like the other nuns, had never heard of Robbins — sat for a moment with a stunned look on her face.

“No more crying for us no more?” Mary Valerie said in her thick French accent.

“No more crying no more,” Robbins said, beaming the smile that has made his face instantly recognizable to practically anyone who watches TV.

Most people know Robbins, 55, from his infomercials and books, in which he urges his fans to find the power within to become successful. He makes millions from advising presidents and CEOs. But it turns out that Robbins also has a soft spot for feeding the impoverished.

He was poor as a child and homeless as a teenager, and he likes to tell the story of how profoundly it touched him when a stranger once gave his hungry family a basket of food.

After he struck it big, Robbins created a personal foundation, and among other things, it gives clothing and food to the poor. It serves 2 million people in need every year around the world, and Robbins and his wife match that to reach 4 million total.

“When I was homeless, I had a car to sleep in — I was lucky,” Robbins told Mary Valerie and Sister Mary Benedicte, who met with him while the kitchen’s only other nun, Sister Mary of the Angels, was out distributing food at tent cities. “But I never forgot what that was like. It changed me.

“We need to find a solution here where everyone involved can feel OK about it,” Robbins said. “I have a lot of resources. I can help.”

The nuns who run the kitchen on one of the city’s sketchiest blocks have been feeding the homeless for eight years, but in January they got a notice to pay almost 60 percent more rent — from $3,465 a month to $5,500 — or leave. On the advice of a pro bono lawyer, they refused, pointing out that they live in the building as well as work there.

Their only income comes from selling at farmers markets the fruit-topped cakes and other French pastries they bake at the kitchen. They feed hundreds of homeless people weekly and sleep in the back. The court proceedings they faced meant they would have about one month before they’d have to hit the street like the people they serve.

Mary Valerie flew out from their religious order’s Chicago headquarters to handle the eviction crisis. It was she, along with Robbins and his staff, who talked to landlord Nick Patel’s lawyer and the nuns’ lawyer, Dan Fitzpatrick, to hash out Friday’s truce.

New home

Robbins said the nuns can use the $25,000 he gave to them this week, plus another $25,000 he plans to give within the next year, to move to another location. If he has to, he said, he will enlist some of his high-powered friends in San Francisco — think billionaire CEOs — to help find that other location.

“The owner of the building is a businessman, and it’s his business — I understand that,” Robbins said. “So instead of putting everyone at conflict, he needed to have a way out. It’s a model of how to do things. Everyone wins.”

Patel’s lawyer, Michael Heath, said he was “very glad” there was a tentative resolution to the conflict that has drawn condemnation for his client from around the world since The Chronicle revealed the sisters’ plight. More details on the agreement will be worked out in the coming week, he and Fitzpatrick said.

“Mr. Patel was in India on a personal matter, and he’s sorry things developed this way in his absence,” Heath said. “He wants to ensure a smooth transition for the nuns. Mr. Robbins is to be commended.”

Offers of help

Hundreds of people from around the nation and Canada have e-mailed or phoned the soup kitchen and The Chronicle to offer help for the nuns. At least three donation funds have been set up, collecting thousands of dollars.

Marilyn Richardson, president of the Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corp. in San Ramon, set up a GoFundMe page Wednesday. Within two days, it had raised more than $10,000.

“It was such a really sad story. It touched me,” Richardson said. “We are in the mortgage business, and we understand how the rental market has gone crazy, so it seemed like helping them was a perfect thing for us to do.”

Her firm has also offered to help find a new location for the soup kitchen.

Robbins’ check was a first step toward resolution, he explained to the nuns — but he also told them it was just phase one of a business plan. The next step, he said, is to find a more permanent place. The third is to market their pastries to get a steadier income.

He laid out his three-step plan in the same manner he’s been described in Forbes Magazine as having done for former President Bill Clinton, Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber — direct, cheerful and concise. At 6-foot-7 he towered over the nuns, but they seemed utterly unintimidated.

“You could get a celebrity chef in here to help, and I know a few of those,” Robbins told them. “You can have more organizations help with food, and I work with those.

“You do a beautiful thing here. ... Let’s figure out how you can do more of what you do.”

Mary Benedicte nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Tony,” she said quietly. “The homeless people are so sad, and we are here to love them. We have to find a way to keep doing that.”

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron

How to help

In addition to several GoFundMe pages set up by independent donors, the nuns and their attorney have set up two pages to take inquiries about their situation:

Website: http://www.danfitzpatricklaw.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fraternite-Notre-Dame-San-Francisco-231085460565494/