While most people rushed to take their masks off after (or before) COVID cases started going down, Anastasios Rouvas kept his on.
He wasn't sick, or vulnerable, or particularly scared of the virus. The bartender just didn't want people to see his teeth. Between spending time unhoused, using drugs and getting his face kicked in, most of Rouvas' teeth were broken and the rest were missing.
"Thank God for the pandemic, because at work I just wore a mask," Rouvas says.
When face coverings were prevalent, Rouvas could provide the warm service he loved to give. But when masks started coming off, he didn't know what to do. He had been dealing with the pain for a few years, since the food industry often doesn't provide health insurance and the significant surgery required was beyond what he could afford.
"You're not gonna get rich as a server and bartender," he says. "We're prideful people, or at least I am. Who are you gonna ask help from?"
A friend and coworker secretly told Big Table about Rouvas' needs. Big Table is a nonprofit dedicated to filling the needs of industry workers in the food and beverage industry in Spokane since 2009, and more recently expanding to Pullman, Colfax and Moscow. It also has branches in other cities: Nashville, San Diego, Portland and Colorado Springs.
The organization was also instrumental in mentoring CDAIDE, a similar organization focused on serving industry workers in North Idaho. Based on Christian values, each organization hopes to provide a safety net for workers who often don't receive traditional benefits and are often on the edge of an emergency. Big Table also organizes free communal dinners for industry workers to come eat, be cared for and meet one another, no strings attached.
During Inlander Restaurant Week, QR codes on menus allow diners to easily donate to Big Table and CDAIDE and to give back to the people who are working hard to serve others. This year, the Avista Foundation is matching donations to Big Table and CDAIDE up to $10,000.
When Big Table contacted Rouvas last year, it offered to pay not only for the operation to remove his broken teeth, but for getting dentures, too.
"The people of Big Table are understanding, compassionate and nonjudgmental people," Rouvas says. "The dentist, Dr. Love in the Spokane Valley, did a great job."
In 2023, Big Table directly supported 374 people. If you include an average of two other family members also impacted by these benefits, that's over 1,000 lives improved in a single year. But with about 19,000 people involved in the region's food and beverage scene, the work of Big Table and CDAIDE is never done.
Rouvas says no one can even tell he has dentures, and he's regaining the confidence he lost in years past. He's hoping to open his own Greek restaurant someday, and is keeping his eye out for properties in his price range in Spokane or his hometown, Seattle.
Rouvas' first name, Anastasios, is Greek for "resurrection."
"It's a dedication to the resurrection of Christ," he says.
Has rebirth been a poetic theme in his life?
"Hopefully, once I get to where I wanna be, absolutely," he says. "Life hasn't cut me down yet."
Until he finds his own spot, Rouvas is helping spread smiles around Spokane, in part thanks to the help he had from Big Table to recreate his own.
"It's not the most glamorous, but I just love the industry. I love the hustle and bustle," Rouvas says."I get to make people's day. I get to spread a little bit of joy and love in the world." ♦
