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Yanis Latsis emigrated to the United States from Latvia in 1989.  He came with his parents, being 14 at the time, because his parents sought a better life for him and his siblings.  In 1992, being a typical teenager, he had aspirations of a stereo, video games, dates, a car…  At the time, his brother was working for Outback Steakhouse, and encouraged him to also apply for a job there.  He started with Outback as a dishwasher in 1992.  In 1996, Yanis helped open the Suwanee location as the Kitchen Manager.  He continued to work his way up in the organization, and in 2003, he was offered an opportunity to buy into a partnership at the Gainesville location.  Five years ago, Yanis became the owner of the Suwanee location – a kind of homecoming for him.

One of the things that is very important to Yanis, and to Outback Steakhouse, is giving back part of his success to the community.  He is extremely grateful for the opportunities he has had to build a life for himself and his family, and now is committed to making an impact in the community that gave him that chance.  Yanis is joined by Gary Galloway, of Gwinnett County Senior Services today.  Outback and Gwinnet County Senior Services joined hands more than a decade ago to implement the Outback at Work program that has now generated more than $100,000 for Gwinnett County’s Seniors.  This money, donated to Gwinnett County’s seniors through non-profit Friends of Gwinnett County Senior Services has been used to support Meals on Wheels, Emergency Home Repair and transportation, among other things.

As we near the holidays, Yanis and his team at Outback Steakhouse in Suwanee want to make sure that several hundred more people have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  As such, Yanis is opening his restaurant from 10 am to Noon on Thanksgiving Day to cook a free meal for those who would not otherwise have a Thanksgiving dinner.  Yanis tells us he is personally cooking these turkeys!

Outback Steakhouse in Suwanee is located at 145 Gwinco Boulevard, near the Lawrenceville Suwanee Rd exit of I-85.  They are now open for lunch!  Check out their menu here.  If you know of a senior that might not otherwise get a Thanksgiving meal that is in reasonably close proximity of the restaurant, please call Charlene Barr, Gwinnett County Senior Services, at (678) 377-6715, or email her at Charlene.barr@gwinnettcounty.com.

We want to thank Griswold Special Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Special Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Dallas and Atlanta for 20 years.