COLUMBIA, S.C. — A local restaurant wanted to support their Ukrainian chef and thought flying the country's flag would be the first step.
Julia's, a German restaurant, on Sparkleberry Crossing Road in Columbia is flying the Ukrainian nation's flag as a show of support and appreciation to their chef.
Chef, Oleksandr Vykhrest left Ukraine almost 15 years ago, his two brothers and two sisters are still in Ukraine.
Vykhrest said, "My sister has a disabled child and they're hiding in their neighbor's cellar or a bomb shelter I guess for right now, and my brother has been called into the reserves for duty since he already served once and so he has to do it again." It makes him sad and depressed he says, being so far away.
He says that even though he worries about his country and family he is delighted by the support system he found at work.
When he came to work he was surprised to find a Ukrainian flag flying alongside the German and American flag when he came into work.
"I feel very appreciated," said Vykhrest and he says he is proud of the support he has gotten from co-workers. Jamie Charles, the general manager of Julia's, is hopeful this will show how much of a family they are, "we felt very sad we couldn't do much to support Ukraine so we put the flag up so people driving by will recognize there is something serious going on,".
Charles added he is following a growing trend across the nation of banning Russian liquor. "We've decided to clear the Russian vodka off our shelves and not sell it anymore, " and he says it won't be going back on the shelf anymore.
He also hopes other businesses will also try to support people from Ukraine as much as possible, "any business that can show the flag and recognize their employees that are from that side of the world,".