MONTEREY, Calif- A bar owner hailed as a hero tonight. Sal Carbone the owner of Carbone's in Monterey is opening his doors Wednesday night for men and women in the military to enjoy a thanksgiving dinner. But Central Coast News found out the bar owner gave one family the greatest Thanksgiving gift of all, a few days early.
This is the 5th year Sal Carbone has cooked a Thanksgiving meal for the troops he said as long as there is food still left he's going to keep his doors open.
He's spent more than $1,000 and hours preparing for the feast. More than 100 military personnel are expected, "There is no set reason other than thanks. Thanks and it's a message to the other businesses and people in the community to stop taking and start giving back," said Sal Carbone.
While most of the soldiers are from the Defense Language Institute and the Navel Post Graduate School, a few military families celebrate thanksgiving there too, "Last year we had a mother who's husband was killed and she brought her five kids in," said Carbone.
While tonight is a great gift to the military community, Sal's present to one family this Thanksgiving is truly heroic. On Saturday a man at his bar had a heart attack, "It was kind of an unusual situation. The son had just found the dad after 26 years. They stopped in here to shoot a game of pool. He passed out the son was just frozen. I took over picked him up and put him on the bench and resuscitate him he looked up and smiled, a great Thanksgiving," said Carbone.
Sal told Central Coast News he hasn't used CPR in 25 years but his fast thinking saved the man's life, and the phone call he received Sunday morning is something hell never forget, "The lady asked for the owner I said I'm the owner and she said thanks for saving my dads life," said Carbone.
Sal Carbone is also hosting a clothing drive for elderly people without warm clothes later this month.
Submitted by Shannon Hogan, Central Coast News.
