Bistro staffed by recovering addicts

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 20 (UPI) -- A Florida psychiatrist said the restaurant he opened in May is staffed by former drug addicts and psychiatric patients.

Dr. Robert Moran, 49, of West Palm Beach, said he opened Moran's Italian Burger Bistro as a component of his nearby Wellington Retreat treatment clinic in May and 14 of the 36 employees are patients at the clinic, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday.

"It occurred to me that we were missing something in our program, and that was the occupational piece," Moran said. "The environment out there wasn't cooperating, so we created our own environment."

General Manager Troy Sheller, who suffered from addiction in his youth, said the restaurant gives extra chances to workers who backslide.

"Most restaurants, a lot of people would have been fired," Sheller said. "But I give them second and third chances."

Sheller said he starts job interviews by asking, "What was your drug of choice, and how long have you been clean?"

"I've seen grown men cry; the wall goes down immediately," Sheller said. "In most interviews they have to hide that stuff."