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Christina & Nathan Bennett to be Honored As GNC Chamber’s Leaders of the Year
By Pat Lindsey
Every year the Greater North County Chamber selects a business person who exemplifies good business practices, leadership, and the community spirit of North County to receive its Business Leaders of the Year Award. The recipient of this year’s award is a married couple who works as a team in their business, marriage, family, and spiritual life. They will be honored at a luncheon in the Atrium at Christian Hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Christina and Nathan Bennett are the proprietors of Hendel’s Restaurant in Old Town Florissant, where they work, live, play, and pray. For more than 20 years, Nathan has been the chef and Christina has managed the front of the house and coordinated special events and together they have created the premier restaurant of Florissant. Nathan’s father, Ed Bennett, originally developed Mr. Hendel’s old general store on St. Denis St. into a popular market cafe, but Ed suddenly passed away in 2009 and Nathan and Christina were left to carry on his legacy.
They have continually improved the property and every aspect of the business. Besides the many choices on the menu, patrons can choose to eat in the dining room, on the enclosed front porch, in the piano bar, or in a beautiful garden. The Bennetts strive to uphold high standards and make their community a better place for those who live or visit there.
The Bennetts have two children, Kyle and Kaylie, who have attended Sacred Heart School, just across the street from Hendel’s. Christina is a lector, Eucharistic minister, and president of the Sacred Heart school board.
Both she and Nathan help prepare young couples for marriage through the parish’s marriage preparation program. Nathan is currently involved in the youth group at Sacred Heart, as well as a sponsor for RCIA and a mentor for Mary Grove.
They are also members of Old Town Partners, North County, Inc., Northwest and Greater North County Chambers of Commerce. Other community organizations dear to their hearts are the T.E.A.M. Food Pantry, St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Shrine of St. Ferdinand.
In 2006, Hendel’s was voted the Best Family Owned Restaurant in St. Louis by the Small Business Administration. Christina and Nathan have each been honored as one of the “30 Leaders in Their 30s” by North County, Inc.
The motto by which the Bennetts live is, “There’s no place like home.” This motto became even more relevant to them when an electrical fire broke out in their home on St. Marie on their son’s 19th birthday and the family was forced to leave for six months while the house was gutted and renovated. When they returned to the home they purchased 17 years ago, they realized more than ever that Florissant is really where they’re supposed to be.
For reservations for the luncheon, call the GNC Chamber at 314-831-3500. Cost is $40 per person.
PHOTO CAPTION: The Bennett family: Kyle, Christina, Nathan, and Kaylie. The family has their restaurant in Old Town Florissant, but also reside in Old Town.
