Freeport new home of the Whopper

Dozens of Freeporters walked around Burger King on E. Merrick Road, last Saturday, wearing crowns. After two years of development and construction, Freeport is officially the new home of the Whopper. Owned and operated by brother and sister, Jay Della Monica and Debbie Sena, the fast food chain has already hired over 50 Freeport employees. The restaurant’s goals, according to Sena, are to create strong ties to the community by contributing to the village’s tax base, continuing to hire locally and provide funding for education through scholarships and other future potential projects.

The Della Monica-Sena family has owned Creative Foods Corp. since 1976 and currently owns 27 restaurants in the metro New York area, employing over 1000 people.

“Sometimes when people see the big Burger King logo, they think it’s a big corporation,” Sena said. “But we are a family owned and operated business.”

During the festivities, Della Monica and Sena welcomed local elected officials along with the Freeport Chamber of Commerce for a traditional grand opening ribbon cutting. After the ceremony, children lined up to get their faces painted or to put on a temporary emoji tattoo, while others participated in raffles or danced to the sounds of the Adlib Steel Orchestra. Sena also shared that a portion of the proceeds from the food sales of that day would be donated to support Adlib, a local band that provides teenagers with the opportunity to learn and perform on the steelpan while teaching them about other aspects of Caribbean culture.

BK also awarded 27 Nassau County high school students with $1000 scholarships for their college education —a total of $27,000 in scholarships. Senior, James Hastings, this year’s scholarship recipient, represented Freeport High School.

“We want to make sure everyone knows that when our employees are walking into our restaurants they’re walking into our family,” Sena said.