Perry Bennett, from Perry’s Joint, second from left, poses for a picture with the Perry’s Joint Community Scholarship recipients, from left, Summer Aaron, 18, Haley Cogshell, 17, and Hasan Spencer, 18, all from John Muir High School, pose during the Perry’s Joint Community Scholarship fundraising event at Perry’s Joint in Pasadena on Saturday, August 8, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)
The joint was jumping on Saturday. Perry’s Joint, that is. The gourmet sandwich shop on Lincoln Avenue hosted its 10th annual Perry’s Joint Community Scholarship Day on Saturday. The proceeds from every sandwich and hot dog purchased between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. went directly into the shop’s Community Scholarship fund, to be split among three deserving graduating seniors from nearby John Muir High School. Direct donations can also be made through Wednesday via a GoFundMe portal on the Perry’s Joint website (perrysjoint.com). On Monday, the award pool was projected to top $15,000.
As a line of enthusiastic customers wrapped around the corner of Lincoln Avenue and West Montana Street, hostess Nia August prepped order slips to expedite the process. Inside, behind the counter, the frenetic crew of sandwich artisans plied their trade under the supervision of maestro Perry Bennett. Meanwhile, artisan Arlynn Page would regularly emerge into the courtyard with bags of sandwiches, shouting the names of the lucky, and rewarding them for their benevolent patience. An air of cheery, organized and socially distanced chaos presided over the typically quiet strip of Lincoln Avenue, all day long.
Indeed, business has been brisk lately for Perry’s Joint, particularly after appearing on a recently published list of Black-owned Los Angeles-area restaurants. Waiting in line to order was Andrea Roche of Glendora, who “discovered” Perry’s Joint just two weeks ago, when “my friend brought me here.” Likewise, Andrea had brought her friend Ian Glazer, a sandwich fan from San Diego. The pair came for the food, but learning that their sandwich money would go to the Community Scholarship fund made the visit even more delicious.
Peter Markowski and his son Miles, 7, of San Gabriel joined the gaggle of the hopeful in waiting in the courtyard for their orders. Also new to Perry’s Joint, Miles had ordered the “American”- style hotdog, sparking a vigorous debate regarding the validity of ketchup usage. Scholarship Day at Perry’s Joint attracted an eclectic, lively and opinionated crowd.
Those really in the know spotted the grateful scholarship recipients in the crowd. Selected personally by Perry Bennett, based on relationships cultivated over the course of their high-school years (and more than a few sandwiches), this year’s scholarship recipients form an impressive trio.
Like the rest of the freshman class of 2020, their first college semesters won’t be typical.
Summer Aaron, 18, will start her freshman year at Georgia’s Clark Atlanta University here at home. “Unfortunately, they won’t be open,” she said. “Right now it’s going to be online.” She also just landed a job with FedEx in Arcadia. The prospective sociology major said she looks forward to taking classes at Atlanta’s Spelman and Morehouse colleges as well, thanks to a cooperative curriculum arrangement among the three schools.
Hasan Spencer, 18, is headed to Bucknell University. “I am pursuing a career in urban planning and politics,” he said. With a full tuition scholarship from the Posse Foundation, Hasan will be on campus pursuing a hybrid format of online and in-person classes. Hasan was to leave for Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, on Monday, just two days after Scholarship Day.
Haley Cogshell, 18, is the John Muir High School Class of 2020 valedictorian and a regular at Perry’s Joint, ever since her freshman year. When she enters UCLA in September, she said, “I’m personally going to be on campus,” while acknowledging the expected toll of quarantine cabin fever despite the campus housing option. (UCLA has reduced in-person classes to 8 percent, with the rest online, for the 6,500 students living on campus.) Haley will be majoring in human biology as part of a pre-med regimen. “I want to be an ob-gyn…” the proud scholar explains. Favorite sandwich? The Hip Bird.
Suddenly Perry himself appeared in the throng with the principal of John Muir High School in tow. Principal Lawton Gray beamed with pride behind his mask. Asked how students had dealt with the interruptions and uncertainty caused by the lockdown, he replied, “They took it in stride. They were all very positive. They’re looking to their future!”
We are too!
As Perry Bennett declared, capping off the successful event, “We are all here to pave a pathway for the next generation. It’s much bigger than just me. [We need to] change the future!”
Perry’s Joint is located at 2051 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 798-4700 or visit perrysjoint.com.
