Diners at Long Island restaurant help support charities

LINDENHURST, N.Y. (FOX 5 NY) - You could call it "dining with a purpose."

"People come here and they feel great about something," said former educator and lifelong restaurateur Billy Miller.

He opened Restoration Kitchen and Cocktails to combine his passion for helping people and knowledge of the restaurant industry.

"We wanted to restore Lindenhurst to what it once was. Everything in the place is restored—from the bar top to the tables to the chairs, we have wood from Hurricane Sandy, we took down an old barn when we were younger, we have ladders that are 250 years old," Miller said. "We wanted to restore faith in humanity by doing what we're doing."

This is how it works. The restaurant, a nonprofit, serves lunch and dinner donates net profits to nonprofit organizations every four months.

"You get to read about the charities and you get to read about their passion—about what they do and why they do it and who they help and why they help them," he said.

It's that pay-it-forward mentality. Billy and his wife, Nicole pick two or three Long Island charities at a time. At the end of each meal, customers are given a token that they put in the flower pot that coincides with the cause they wish to support.

"Everybody can't thank us enough for all that we're doing," Nicole Miller said. "I think the customers feel good about themselves, too, when they leave here because they're contributing to this as well. They're the reason we're succeeding right now."

And what's on the menu? Quesadillas, wings and other simple things. Everything is made with fresh ingredients.

It's about restoring faith in humanity, one person and bite of food at a time.

Restoration Kitchen and Cocktails | 49 E. Hoffman Avenue, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 | 631-592-1905 | restorationli.com