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FAZOLI’S* Address: 3016 Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe, 4550 N. Lee Highway in Cleveland, and 2332 Shallowford Village Drive* Hours: Sunday-Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.* Phone: Fort Oglethorpe location at 706-861-7989, Cleveland at 423-339-2822 and Shallowford Village Drive at 423-499-5155
Fazoli’s director of operations Ken Szostek raised his children to look beyond their presents to find the meaning of Christmas.
“I always had them do something, volunteer at a nursing home or something,” Ken told me during our recent sit-down.
Once, he said, when his daughter was 5 he had her write an essay about what the holidays meant to her.
“She did a terrific job!” Ken chuckled.
And so did he as a parent. His son and daughter, now grown with their own children, still give back every season when they volunteer with their dad during Fazoli’s Santa Nights.
Every year, Saint Nick takes a tour of local Fazoli’s restaurants, where he takes free photos with children and hands out fun prizes. This year, between 6 and 8 p.m., Santa will make his appearance in Chattanooga Monday, Dec. 5; Fort Oglethorpe Tuesday, Dec. 6; and Cleveland Monday, Dec. 12.
Ken and his family will be right alongside Santa, helping him snap, edit and print photos.
“I’ve watched kids grow up here,” said Ken, who has helped organize the big event for 8 years. “I see parents bringing in new babies.”
“It’s a madhouse some years!” Ken said.
And it isn’t just for the kids. Adults have an incentive to attend, too – which, this year, looks and tastes a lot like Fazoli’s two limited-time-offer fettuccine dishes: baked fettuccine Alfredo and shrimp fettuccine Alfredo.
Throughout the season, Fazoli’s is offering a free scratch-off card with each purchase of a $15 gift card. Scratch-off prizes might include a free build-your-own pasta or even free pizza for a year – a $350 value. It is the gift that keeps on giving, much like children can be.
“When they were young we loved to mess with them,” said Ken, reminiscing again. “One year we gift-wrapped lumps of coal under the tree just to see that look of disappointment before we gave them their big gifts.”
A ruse like that also serves to remind a child about the real reason for the season: family, of course – through the thick and thin.