Widow honors her late husband’s tradition of offering cool drinks to public service workers
There are bartenders everywhere you look, but few can make an impact like Charlie Poveromo. The New Milford bartender did a lot more than mix drinks and serve customers.
Charlie already had quite a reputation for being kind and sweet.
Charlie Poveromo, beloved Grissini bartender, dies https://t.co/EZA6CX6iRJ pic.twitter.com/b1pYbD04kP
— NorthJersey.com (@northjersey) March 13, 2018
His customers always remembered the conversations he’d have with them. There could be dozens packing the bar, and Charlie would make every single person feel like his friend. He was truly a humble and kind man.
His compassionate nature wasn’t just for his customers.
Charlie was a wonderful person even at home. Just ask his local garbage collectors!
The humble bartender started a bit of a tradition back home. It all started when his local garbage collectors stopped by his home. The day was hot and humid, and the garbage men were sweating profusely. Their skin was all pale, and they didn’t look to be comfortable in the slightest.
No way was Charlie letting them work in this condition.
He ran inside and grabbed a water jug from his fridge while asking his wife, Velvet, to bring plastic cups.
He told them to come under the shade and cool off with the water. It’d occurred to Charlie that the weather is out of anyone’s control, and these garbage men are probably going to see a lot more days like this.
On that very afternoon, Charlie made a trip to Shoprite and bought some more ice, bottled water, and a cooler. He was well prepared to keep doing this, all for his hardworking garbage collectors.
This was his only day off from work, though he didn’t mind one bit.
Word got around about what Charlie was doing. Pretty soon, it wasn’t just garbage collectors stopping by. Everyone from sanitation officers to police officers, construction workers, firefighters, and DPW employees would come by Charlie’s yard to rest. They’d take a breather under the shade, and Charlie would offer them something to drink.
It got to the point where Charlie began to include Gatorade and orange juice in the cooler too.
Charlie had a big heart and was loved by many.
From then onwards, Charlie would leave a cooler with cold drinks outside his home every weekday. When he wasn’t serving beverages at the bar, he was serving them at home. Both of them made him pretty happy.
Though Charlie wasn’t invincible. He was still human, like you and me. As kind as he was to everyone, his health wasn’t very kind to him. The humble bartender passed away from a heart attack in March.
No doubt, a ton of people will miss him.
He made the everyday lives of his customers that much brighter.
Now his widow, Velvet Poveromo realized what he’d left behind. People were probably going to wonder what happened to him, and she’d have to break the news to them. There were also the garbage collectors who’ll start wondering.
“I had to step into his shoes. 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.” – Velvet said to NorthJersey
Velvet kept it going for Charlie.
She continued leaving coolers of cold water out during weekdays.
Since Charlie’s passing, she included a note on the coolers that read “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.”
Later on, news of Charlie’s passing spread to the people who looked for him. The kind man who’d offer shade and cool drinks had passed, and people started finding out.
When the unfortunate news spread, all the public service workers who frequented Charlie’s place came to salute him goodbye.
Velvet recounts crying happily over the sight. Charlie had passed, but he was never really gone. His kind spirit is still in every single worker he helped, and Velvet could rest at night knowing that.
Check out Velvet’s Facebook post below!
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