it's party time.

In March of 2020, we all had no idea how drastically our lives were about to change. And for Hasan and Leah, things changed a lot. Leah was finally realizing her dream of living independently in New York and had just been offered a year-long apprenticeship at a big theater company. Hasan, half way across the world in Istanbul, Turkey, was getting ready to graduate college in June and had just been offered a co-op with Lufthansa in Germany. Both began preparing for these big life changes when, wouldn't you know it, the pandemic hit. After a few days, the entire theater industry came to a screeching halt. Scared to remain in NY in light of the ever-growing covid cases, Leah fled to Maine to stay with her parents. While she intended to only be there two weeks, it turned into six months. She got a job at the only restaurant hiring in town, Pier 77. Meanwhile, Hasan watched as Germany closed its borders and the Lufthansa offer came off the table. Not wanting to stay trapped in Turkey, he decided to take advantage of his last summer qualifying as a college student and joined the US Work and Travel Visa Program. He researched which state had the least amount of Covid cases, Maine, and found a restaurant owned by a fellow Turk, Pier 77. Hasan landed in the states on July 1st (Leah's birthday) and a few days later, the whole restaurant staff went to the beach to celebrate the Fourth of July. Leah, in pure Hall fashion, dove straight into the ocean, at midnight, fully clothed. When she got out, a very cute Turkish boy was offering her his sweatshirt... and the rest is history.