Caring for Caregivers NaanStop Payback

When Neal and Samir Idnani were growing up in Nashville, their mom was a standout at dinner parties because she brought the best dishes to share. “Her food was so popular that we wondered why Americans didn’t eat more Indian food,” Neal says.

To test their idea of opening a restaurant, they translated their mom’s “a little of this, a little of that” to actual recipes for fresh, homestyle Indian food, then opened a food truck in Los Angeles.

NaanStop was an immediate success. But the brothers longed to return to their Southern roots and found a location near Georgia State University. Additional restaurants in Atlantic Station and Buckhead followed.

“During COVID-19, we wanted to find a way to stay open and make people happy through food, so we set up a table in my yard where neighbors could pick up food. We posted it on Facebook and people showed up in a big way,” Samir says.

To give back to the community, they decided to host family meal pop-up fundraisers at neighboring schools and donate 10% percent of sales. “We recently expanded the program to three times a week at all three locations. Customers pre-order complete meals for four online and pick them up at specified drive-through locations. To date, we’ve raised more than $30,000 for schools and nonprofits,” Neal says.

At 29, Atlanta singer/songwriter

Vince Zangara became a full-time caregiver to his dad who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Overnight, the life he led evaporated, and he lost many of his friends. Their journey lasted 14 difficult years.

Zangara was shocked and angry when he couldn’t find resources for respite care and medical equipment that wasn’t paid for by insurance, and he wanted to raise money to help other family members caught in the web. “Caregiving is extremely isolating, so I wanted to do something that was uplifting and brought people together,” he says. With the help of musician friends, he put on the first annual Alzheimer’s Music Fest in 2013.

This year’s event at the historic Buckhead Theatre celebrated its 10th year and merger with Friends of Disabled Adults and Children that provides home medical equipment and other services at low or no cost.

The concert line-up was the biggest yet and included Grammy award-winner Arrested Development, Cowboy Mouth, Cracker and Gurufish, and topped its goal of $75,000. Ninety percent of the proceeds went directly to the mission.

“We’re now year-round with four fests a year at larger venues, golf tournaments and breakfasts with Santa and have a 64,800 square foot warehouse in Tucker with more than 35 employees,” Zangara says.