'It's been like a miracle'

After a trying year in which she overcame a tough battle with Covid-19, Elizabeth Redling received the surprise of a lifetime when her family gathered at Frank's Steaks in Rockville Centre to celebrate her 100th birthday June 30.

Redlin's grandson, Chris Meyer, who owns the restaurant, ensured that family members had the place to themselves for a relaxing birthday lunch with the guest of honor.

“It’s been like a miracle,” Redling said. “I’m so happy to see everyone.”

Redling had not seen some of her children and grandchildren for more than a year. At 100, she has seen and experienced plenty, but the past decade has been especially difficult after she lost her home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, to Superstorm Sandy and fought off Covid-19 at 99.

“What are you going to do?” Redling said. “But thank God for my family. I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

Meyer had food from Frank’s and Jordan's Lobster Farm in Island Park for the occasion. They also had Long Beach Photo Bus come to the home of Meyer’s aunt and uncle, where Redling has lived in the years after Sandy, and took pictures for the first time as a family in more than a year and a half.

After she was diagnosed with the coronavirus in May 2020, Meyer often FaceTImed his grandmother to keep in contact. “After I got off the FaceTime with her, I was crying,” he recalled. “I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to see her again. The fact that we were able to come together, beat Covid, survive as a family and a business, and now put on such an amazing celebration for her is one of the proudest moments and most humbling experiences of my life.”

Making up for a lost year, the family made sure to take plenty of pictures outside the restaurant to document the occasion. Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony D'Esposito gave Redling a proclamation to honor her milestone. After, the family headed to Bellmore for a surprise from one of Meyer’s employees, Daniel Graham.

“Yppah Birthday” was painted in white on the street facing side of the blue house. It “simply means once you reach 100 years, you start counting backward,” Graham joked. “One hundred years old, that’s a big deal.”

Graham has worked with his friend Meyer for 16 years and called the restaurant a second home. Before Meyer took over as the manager, he trained Graham as a waiter. “There’s no job in Frank’s he hasn’t done,” Graham said. And that’s not far from the truth, as Meyer holds the titles of owner, general manager and pastry chef.

After surviving a challenging 18 months, Meyer and his staff will be on vacation for the first time in years when they take off July 2 to 11. “It’s been a long haul, and it’s time to take a little breather, but we can’t wait to get back on July 12,” he said. “In the meantime, we’re definitely going to enjoy our time off, reflect and count our blessings.”