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Posted August 8, 2014, 4:31 pm

Cafe on the Canal - A Mission for Healthful Living

If you haven’t tried the $5 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at Cafe on the Canal in the Salvation Army Kroc Center, you are really missing out.
Open to the public, the buffet includes turkey sausage, biscuits, bacon and sausage gravy from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday. 
The executive chef, Tony Direnzo, has an extensive background in food and beverage. He has worked at several five-star and five-diamond resorts such as the Cloister at Sea Island, Ga.
“My comfort zone for eating and cooking is Italian because I grew up in an Italian family,” Direnzo said. “But, once I moved back to the South, my love for cooking turned to Southern cuisine because of the simplicity of the dishes. They don’t use a lot of spices or overwhelming ingredients like the Italian dishes.”
The chef has a fantastic variety of delicious options, not only for breakfast but also for lunch. The favorite options at the cafe are the buffalo chicken wrap, served on a jalapeño tortilla, the fried green tomato BLT and the Reuben.
“Our Reuben is unique because instead of boiling the corn beef, we slow-roast it giving a more explosive flavor to the meat,” Direnzo said.
Cafe on the Canal also offers hot dishes such as meat loaf and fried catfish, with a side of macaroni and  cheese or mashed potatoes with gravy.
The cafe also does in-house catering for events offering plated, buffet, snack and other menu options. For a special occasion, have an event in the theater and seat up to 260 guests in the cafe for the reception. Each event space has separate audio and video options for any business meeting or meet-and-greet. There are managers on site to help book your event.
“When people spend money at the cafe, or even at the Kroc Center, they will know that their dollar is going back into the community,” said Maj. Tony Perez, the Salvation Army representative for the area. “The Kroc Center is a community center and it’s open to the community.”
The Kroc Center is one of 27 in the country. The mission for the Salvation Army community centers is to provide education, spiritual development and healthful living to the area.
The cafe is part of the Salvation Army’s mission for healthful living, and all funds go back into the programs at the Kroc Center such as senior activities, arts and education programs, and worship on Sundays.
“The prices on the menu are affordable, and the food is delicious,” Direnzo said.
Cafe on the Canal is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. To place a to-go order, call (706) 922-1525, and for e-mail updates for the daily chef special, send an e-mail to anthony_direnzo@uss.salvationarmy.org.