South Elgin restaurant owners deliver priceless holiday meal to disabled Elgin seniors

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Jean Hansen (left), Mumtaz Mumu and her husband Mohsin show off the centerpiece that the residents of Burnham Manor in Elgin presented to the Mumus in appreciation of the free Thanksgiving dinner. | Submitted Photo

Updated: January 1, 2012 8:07AM

The photo, as you’ve probably already noticed, doesn’t say a whole lot: “Three People and a Floral Centerpiece” could be the title.

But while the picture may not be worth a thousand words, the story behind it sure is — and guaranteed to warm your heart at least a little bit this holiday season.

It all started in September, when the social group at the Burnham Manor apartment complex’s building for seniors with disabilities in Elgin decided to cater a luncheon from Papa Saverio’s Pizzeria on Randall Road.

On the day of the event, the South Elgin restaurant’s owner, Mohsin Mumu, realized he had no driver — so he jumped in the truck and made the delivery himself.

Even now, Mumu can’t totally explain why he felt such a powerful and instant connection to the residents there. Maybe these seniors — many of whom have to rely on walkers and wheelchairs to get around — reminded him of the medical struggles of his own parents, who had both passed away in his homeland of India.

Mumu, who lives in St. Charles, was even more touched when, a few days later, he received a letter from Jean Hansen, president of the social circle, in appreciation of the excellent food and outstanding service.

Never, in his 40 years in the business, had he received a thank-you letter.

Truly touched by this simple gesture, Mumu, whose restaurant would be closed on Thanksgiving Day, offered then and there to cater a free Thanksgiving Day feast for the building’s residents.

Hansen and the other residents were overwhelmed by the generous offer but, in accepting, told him to please choose another day so he could spend the holiday with his own family.

What she didn’t know was that Mumu and his wife Mumtaz, who had moved here from Bombay 12 years ago, had no other family here, after their daughter got married and moved back to India a couple years ago.

The meal this couple provided — Italian beef, oven-baked chicken and mostaccioli — to more than 40 residents at Burnham Manor was “amazing,” Hansen told me. And in appreciation, the Mumus were presented with the holiday centerpiece, along with a bottle of wine, The gifts, Mumu told me, touched him so deeply, “I cried through the entire meal.”

I tried to get this most generous restaurant owner to agree to have a Courier-News photographer shoot a portrait of him for this story. I’m not surprised he declined. “I didn’t do it for any publicity,” he said quietly, politely.

No, he didn’t. It was the folks from the manor who contacted us and sent this picture.

It’s not the greatest photo in the world: It appears the camera even caught the Mumus as they were blinking. But sometimes it’s not about what you see — it’s what you feel.

“It was the best day of my life,” Mumu told me. “These people are so wonderful ... we now have our Burnham Manor family.”