Ride for Ryan 2016: Vancouver to Portland

The First Stop on the 2016 Ride for Ryan (Vancouver to Portland) is Tuesday, August 2, at the Franklin Inn Mexican Restaurant. Bring this voucher to the Inn (or mention it to your server) between 11am and 9pm and 20% of your bill will be donated to the Ryan Diviney Special Needs Trust. You can enjoy a nice meal and help a family in need. 

This will be the 6th annual bicycle ride taken to raise funds for the Diviney family and public awareness for Ryan and victims of violent crimes. See my past blog posts to learn more about the history of the Ride for Ryan: 

2015: Ride for Ryan:  Washington, DC
2014 Ride for Ryan: Nova Scotia
2013 Ride for Ryan: West Coast Style
2012 Ride for Ryan: East Coast Style
2011 Ride for Ryan: First Annual Ride for Ryan

Ride organizer, John Maletta,says this year, "We're doing a very challenging ride from Vancouver BC Canada to Portland, OR."

Ryan's family has been doing a great job at keeping Ryan cared for and physically healthy. But, they are exhausted and disheartened to see Ryan's attackers out of jail, getting married and having children. A future that was violently taken from Ryan and his family seven years ago. (Read more about Ryan's story at www.ryansrally.org.)

Maletta says, "The Ride For Ryan is most importantly about keeping Ryan relevant. Ken is emotionally exhausted now and it's our job to keep Ryan in the news and relevant. We carry Ryan's flag now. Secondarily, it's about helping to raise money to pay for his ongoing medical expenses." 

Join us on Tuesday, August 2, at the Franklin Inn in Franklin Park, PA for the "First Stop on the Ride For Ryan. Bring this voucher or mention the Ride for Ryan and 20% of your lunch, dinner or bar tab will be donated to the Ride For Ryan.  If you can't make it on the 2nd, please consider donating directly to the Ryan Diviney SNT. Your donation can be made payable to the Ryan Diviney SNT (Special Needs Trust) and mailed to John Maletta at 2306 Salem Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15237. All gifts large and small are most appreciated. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Ryan Diviney SNT. The actual ride is self-financed by the bikers.
 
Our Franklin Inn Community has been so generous since John Maletta first asked us to sponsor the ride through this event six years ago.Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the Diviney family. We look forward to seeing you at the Inn!

Chef Nemorio's Special Fundraising Dinner

Our Head Chef, Nemorio Ramierz, asked us if we would open the Inn for a fundraising dinner for his mission trip to the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas in February with the Crafton Heights UP Church (CHUP). This will be the 7th year that CHUP is sending a group of adults to serve in this region. And of course, we would love to help them raise the funds to go help others in need.

This is not a Franklin Inn event.  We are just contributing the use of our resources.  This means that our regular menu will not be available and there will be no bar service.  Our General Manger, who is also a great cook, Chris, has volunteered to help Chef Nemorio prepare the meal and the wait staff will be members of the CHUP Mission Team. Isn't that cool?  John and I are looking forward to being guests in our own restaurant!

Chef Nemorio has created a wonderful special menu for this event. See the flyer below for menu details. It looks super yummy! I can't decide if I want the Salmon or Chicken selection.  I think I'll make John order the opposite of me so we can taste each others.

To purchase tickets you must see Chef Nemorio (He's at the Inn every day except Mondays) or call Gabe Kish at 412-922-1950. Space is limited. I'm not sure how long tickets will be available so don't hesitate because I think all who are going on the mission trip are responsible for selling a certain number of tickets.  This would make a great Christmas Gift. A night out of great food and companionship that will contribute to folks helping others.  On your next visit to the Inn, ask Nemorio more about the projects they'll be completing on this trip and the folks that they'll be helping.  (Click here for a flyer you can share and read the details better than the photo below.)

Getting Ready for the Chile Pepper Festival

Update: The 5th Annual Chile Pepper Farm Festival will be held on Sunday, September 20th from 11am to 8pm. You can purchase tickets at the door but  Advance tickets are available on their website for a discount.  The Franklin Inn will be attending. Stop by our table and say hi. It's a fun family friendly event.

Warning the post below is from September 2013. See the links above for updated information:

We are excited to be participating in Reyna Foods Third Annual Chile Pepper Farm Festival this weekend. John and I attended as guests with our children last year and it was so much fun.  The food was great and will be even greater this year ;  ). They'll have hay rides, live music, demonstrations and more.  It's a beautiful farm owned by the folks of Reyna Foods. You should come check it out.

Tickets can be purchased on Reyna's website for a discount or at the gate for just $10. Kids under 12 are free and so is the parking. If you are attending the festival, stop by and say, "hi" to us. Chris, Julie, and I (Wendy) will be there. We are leaving the rest of our crew at the Inn to serve you...which means that we had to call in the reinforcements for the festival: Big Bob, aka my dad, my mom, Diane, my sister, Ammie, and my Uncle Johnny.

We will be serving Chorizo Wraps at the Chile Pepper Festival.  Earlier today, Chris and I practiced making the wraps and, as always, we have to taste-test everything.  It's a tough job but someone has to do it!

First, we grilled some of our chorizo which is our own exclusive recipe made for us by our sausage butcher.  No nitrates or weird fillers. Just our special recipe blend of pork and spices created by John's mother, Sue, along with her butcher.  You can buy a five pound box at the Inn to use in your own recipes or just visit us at the restaurant or the festival and we'll cook it for you. We also grilled beautiful hatch chiles that Reyna's brought in from New Mexico. They have a special flavor that chile lovers will enjoy. We sliced these jewels and rolled them into a flour tortilla with rice, black beans and corn, cheese, pico de gallo, and shredded lettuce. Outstanding! You've got your protein, your sides and your veggies all rolled up so you'll be able to eat it on the go while enjoying the festivities. That's me under the blue tent getting our spot ready for the festival. Below is a flyer with full details about this event. Hope to see you soon.

Ride for Ryan 2015: Washington DC

First Stop on the Ride for Ryan (Washington DC) - Wednesday, August 20th

The First Stop on the 2015 Ride for Ryan (Washington DC) is Tuesday, September 1st, at the Franklin Inn Mexican Restaurant. Bring this voucher to the Inn (or mention it to your server) between 11am and 9pm and 20% of your bill will be donated to the Ryan Diviney Special Needs Trust. You can enjoy a nice meal and help a family in need. 

This will be the fifth bicycle ride that this dedicated group has taken to raise funds for the Diviney family and public awareness for Ryan and victims of violent crimes. The kick off before each ride has been a fundraiser at the Franklin Inn. See my past blog posts to learn more about the history of the Ride for Ryan: 
2014 Ride for Ryan: Nova Scotia
2013 Ride for Ryan: West Coast Style
2012 Ride for Ryan: East Coast Style
2011 Ride for Ryan: First Annual Ride for Ryan

And here's an article about the ride that was just published minutes ago in the Trib.

Ride organizer, John Maletta, explains this year's ride, "We'll be riding the C&O Towpath and Great Allegheny Passage trails from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. The ride will be 335 miles and will take five days to complete. The money raised this year will be pay Ryan's ongoing medical expenses."

Below is a video that Maletta's daughter made.  I think you need to be logged into Facebook to view it.

The Ride For Ryan V is scheduled for Sept 4-8. My daughter Elise created this special video to officially kick-off our fundraising effort for this year's ride. We'll be cycling 335 miles from DC to Pittsburgh to create awareness for Ryan and raise funds to pay for Ryan's medical expenses. Please watch her video to learn Ryan's story and consider sponsoring our ride this year. With your help, We Got This!
Posted by John Maletta on Sunday, July 19, 2015

We continue to remember that Ryan Diviney can not enjoy the pleasure of biking and travel for himself. Nor, a night out at a great restaurant with food and conversation shared among friends. It takes the care of loved ones to provide him with life's most basic needs. John asks you to please take a moment to read "about this horrific situation and everything that is being done to keep hope alive at www.ryansrally.org. Then, please consider donating to help this cause." Your donation can be made payable to the Ryan Diviney SNT (Special Needs Trust) and mailed to John Maletta at 2306 Salem Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15237. All gifts large and small are most appreciated. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Ryan Diviney SNT. Once again, the ride gang is financing their own way on this trip.

Join us on Tuesday, September 1st at the Franklin Inn in Franklin Park, PA for the "First Stop on the Ride For Ryan." Bring this voucher or mention the Ride for Ryan and 20% of your lunch, dinner or bar tab will be donated to the Ride For Ryan. 

We look forward to seeing you at the Inn! Thank you.

Full Pint Brewing Beer Dinner

Join us for the Franklin Inn Full  Pint Beer Dinner
on Sunday, January 25th at 4pm.

Click here to buy tickets! 

A great Christmas Gift.  Buy your sweetie tickets to a wonderful evening.

Enjoy a delicious four course meal designed especially for this dinner. Each accompanied by a Full Pint Brewing beer. Tom Marshall will be sharing information about local Full Pint Brewing. Chris is keeping most of the information about the meals and beers under wraps for now but he did say that you'd be enjoying their flagship beer, White Lightening. And, they'll be creating a special Mango Habanero Half Firkin or a "pin" just for the Franklin Inn. Not sure what a Firkin or a Pin is?  Check out this link: http://www.hoppytrailsbeernews.com/beer-trivia/what-the-firk-is-a-firkin/ 

According to Bierworks, "Both firkins and pins are loved by beer drinkers because they contain ale that has not gone through the rigors of industrial beer production (filters, pasteurization, force carbonation). As such, the ale that results can be incredibly full and flavorful, sometimes brewed with unusual ingredients. There’s yeasty activity going on there as the beer matures inside the cask. You never know what you might get."  I guess we'll get to taste and see for ourselves on the 25th.

Buy tickets to the Franklin Inn Full Pint Beer Dinner here. 

Chris and John recently toured local Full Pint Brewing for "research purposes" and were both impressed.  John says that he loved everything that was poured for him. Here are a few photos from their Full Pint Field Trip.

Honoring Our Veterans & Troops

Update: Wow! Thank you to everyone who helped collect supplies to mail to our troops. So many of you participated from a couple items to a bag of stuff (every item counts!). John and I took all your generous donations to the Bouck's Battalion drop off site at Sts. John and Paul Church this morning. We combined them into three big boxes, a shopping bag, and a duffel bag. Considering how little space most of the items took up in the boxes there must have been hundreds of toothbrushes, toothpastes, dental flosses, hand sanitizers, etc.  I was going to count them all and report back to you, but there were so many! Kim Boucek told me that it will cost about $9,000 to send these items along with the others collected and the cookies the girl scouts baked. Click here if you want to learn more about the break down of shipping costs or would like to make a donation to help with shipping.  Many of you wanted to help but couldn't stop by this week. Next year, I'll find out about this earlier in the process so that we can get the word out sooner. Again, thank you for your outstanding efforts in such a small time frame.

Thank you to our active, reserve, and retired veterans.

We'd like to treat you to a complimentary entree (lunch or dinner). Visit the Inn this week on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Just show your military/veteran's ID or other proof of military service. No coupon or certificate is necessary. Thank you for your service.

For the Rest of Our Patrons: Would you join us in collecting items for our service men and women who won't be able to visit the Inn for a complimentary meal?

Troops Item Collection at the Franklin Inn
I received an email today from Boucek's Battalion. They have extended their collection deadline because they are short on some items. I became aware of BB last week when I volunteered to help my daughter, Julia, make cookies. Our local girl scouts organized a night at Ingomar Middle School. The girls made 2,000 cookies! BB will be sending the cookies for Christmas. But, they would like to send additional items that our troops could use.

Here is what they need most:
* Power/Protein Bars
* Eye drops
* Deodorant
* Decks of cards
* Puzzle books
* Socks
* Hand Sanitizers (small, pocket size bottles)
* Toothbrushes
* Dental Floss

Bring these items to the Franklin Inn between now and Thursday. I will take your donations Friday morning to the Boucek's Battalion drop off site. They can also use monetary gifts to help with mailing costs. Please don't give us these monetary gifts. Give financial contributions directly to BB. Visit their website for more details: www.bouceksbattalion.org.

Have a great week. See you at the Inn!
Wendy

wendy@franklininn.net
www.franklininn.net
www.facebook.com/franklininn
www.twitter.com/franklininn

The Devil's Pumpkin Ale

Lavery's The Devil's Pumpkin Ale was just tapped at the Inn. It's formerly known as Stingy Jack Pumpkin Ale.  Apparently, the name was changed due to a disagreement with a winery with a similar name. Which ever name you recognize this pumpkin ale by, Lavery says that it was named after the Irish legend of the Jack O Lantern. It's brewed with Pumpkins and Spices. Subtle spicing ensures you can enjoy more than one pint per session. It's a drier version of your standard pumpkin ale, not "cloyingly" sweet. Lavery says that it has a nice toasty/biscuity flavor from American pale ale malt, slight hop bitterness from Northern Brewer and uses the Lavery house yeast blend that leaves slightly fruity esters.

Lavery Brewery is an American craft brewery that "feels comfortable bouncing across brewing traditions and styles." They like traditional beers as much as they like extreme beers and try to walk a fine line between the two. They refer to themselves as a Pennsylvania-style craft brewery.

Lavery Brewing Company was founded in 2009 by husband and wife Jason & Nicole Lavery. Jason Lynch joined the brewing quest in 2010 to build their 10 barrel production brewery. Born and raised around Erie, PA, they are excited to bring something new and dynamic to the local beer culture - Brewing Innovative Ales in Small Batches!

Lavery's is pronounced 'Lav-ry' not 'Lave ry', a soft 'a' in the middle. Similar to 'have', not 'gave' according the brewery.

We've offered you many pumpkin beers on tap and in the bottles from the popular Pumking to some other less well-known but tasty pumpkin beers.  Lavery says that folks enjoy this one because it is not too sweet or spicy.  What do you think?  What's been your favorite pumpkin beer at the Inn? Let us know when you visit the Inn next or join the conversation on Face Book.

First Stop on the Ride for Ryan (Nova Scotia) - Wednesday, August 20th

The First Stop on the 2014 Ride for Ryan (Nova Scotia) is Wednesday, August 20th, at the Franklin Inn Mexican Restaurant. Bring this voucher to the Inn (or mention it to your server) between 11am and 9pm and 20% of your bill will be donated to the Ryan Diviney Special Needs Trust. You can enjoy a nice meal and help a family in need. 

This will be the fourth bicycle ride that this dedicated group has taken to raise funds for the Diviney family and public awareness for Ryan and victims of violent crimes. The kick off before each ride has been a fundraiser at the Franklin Inn. See my past blog posts to learn more about the history of the Ride for Ryan:
2013 Ride for Ryan: West Coast Style
2012 Ride for Ryan: East Coast Style
2011 Ride for Ryan: First Annual Ride for Ryan

The ride gang is in the final stages of training hard for this year's Ride For Ryan. Eight riders will be conquering the 181 mile loop of rugged terrain along the coastline of the Nova Scotia maritime province. On the return trip to the states, the group will be stopping in Bar Harbor, ME to ride the Carriage Trails of Acadia National Park and complete the journey with a ride to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Whew! I think I'd collapse! Make that....I know that I would collapse!

Under the leadership of John Maletta, this group will be leaving in less than two weeks. Lets give them a great send off on Wednesday, August 20th at the Franklin Inn.

John Maletta shares, "I am reminded of the tragic cause that the ride represents and raises funds for each year. Ryan Diviney is the son of my college roommate (Ken Diviney) in Clarion. He was brutally beaten by two strangers while he was a student at WVU. This happened over four years ago and he continues to need continual care, medications, surgeries, etc., much of which is not covered by insurance. His life, and that of his entire family, has been irreparably altered. The Diviney family's lives have been dramatically changed forever, but I cannot sit by on the sidelines and not help my friend. We've done so much good for Ryan in the past three years through the Ride For Ryan and I'm looking for your generous help again this year."




Unfortunately, Ryan Diviney can not enjoy the pleasure of biking and travel for himself. Nor, a night out at a great restaurant with food and conversation shared among friends. In fact, it takes the care of loved ones to provide him with life's most basic needs. John asks you to please take a moment to read "about this horrific situation and everything that is being done to keep hope alive at www.ryansrally.org. Then, please consider donating to help this cause." Your donation can be made payable to the Ryan Diviney SNT (Special Needs Trust) and mailed to John Maletta at 2306 Salem Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15237. All gifts large and small are most appreciated. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Ryan Diviney SNT. The ride gang is financing their own way on this trip.

Join us on Wednesday, August 20th at the Franklin Inn in Franklin Park, PA for the "First Stop on the Ride For Ryan." Bring this voucher or mention the Ride for Ryan and 20% of your lunch, dinner or bar tab will be donated to the Ride For Ryan. 

We look forward to seeing you at the Inn! Thank you.

Happy National Tequila Day!

Come celebrate with us today
through Saturday at the Franklin Inn. 

Sauza Tequila Girls Tonight: Tonight (Thursday only) from 6:30-8:30pm reps from Sauza will be at the Franklin Inn sampling Sauza Blue and their new Sauza 901 Tequila. They also promised to give a way some goodies. We had fun last time they sent reps to us. Hope you can make it.

Drink Specials
Chris made Jalapeno and Pineapple Infused Tequila

Happy Hour: 4pm to 6pm Today & Friday
$4 off Large & $2 off Half Mason Jar Margaritas

Horns Up Flight: 1/2 oz shots of Hornitos
Blanco, Reposado and Anejo $5

Sauza 901 Mason Jar Drink Specials (Small Mason Jar $9):

901 PM-Sauza 901 Silver, Grapefruit Juice, Lime Juice, and Club Soda
La Senorita-Sauza 901 Silver, Smoked Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, and Cholula Hot Sauce
901 Blue - Sauza 901 Silver, Blue Curacao, sierra Mist, and sweet and sour mix

Special Menu Features
Margarita Wings Appetizer: Six wings deep fried, and tossed in Chris's specially made tequila and lime sauce, then grilled and seasoned with kosher salt and served with a lime wedge. $5.95

Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos: Served with rice and Mexican Corn. 13.95

Dessert: House made Tequila Ice Cream or Frozen Margarita Pie

Yards Beer Dinner

Join us for the Franklin Inn Yards Beer Dinner on Sunday, June 1st.

Our first beer dinner was a huge success and we've been asked over and over, "When is the next beer dinner?" Well....here it is...


















Join us for a delicious four course meal with beer pairings. Chris is researching and preparing a menu to out do the last one (if you can believe that!) and you'll get to try at least five different types of Yards Beers. One of them will be a hard to get special edition beer. We will be joined by a rep from Yards who will explain each beer with us and share really interesting stories about the various recipes. You'll be surprised to learn how the founding fathers were among Yard's inspirations.

Space is limited and our last beer dinner sold out in less than a month, so don't drag your feet or you may lose your seat. To register, visit our website www.franklininn.net. 

Here's what the attendees of our last beer dinner wrote on the event's comment cards:

"Great event....we love beer and love it more now! Food was outstanding...Very good!!!"

"It was all great."

"Casual fun!"

"The whole evening was great."

"Thank you for a wonderful event. Love the Franklin Inn."

"Everything was awesome! John and Chris did a fabulous job! Hope you have another one."

"Great variety of foods and beer flavors. Amazing. I had a great time. Thank you."

"This was a perfect event. Thank you."

"Food was amazing."

"Lovely evening."

"Overall great beer experience."

"Loved all of it."