New Kensington native with Pittsburgh bar in Florida helps Hurricane Ian victims

A southwestern Pennsylvania native who operates a Pittsburgh-inspired sports bar in Florida is among the many to face devastating damage following Hurricane Ian.

John Nader grew up in New Kensington but has spent nearly 20 years on Sanibel, a small island in southwest Florida.

Nader opened “The Great White Grill,” which is full of Steelers and Pittsburgh memorabilia.

“He has so much Pittsburgh pride,” his daughter, Tess Nader, told Channel 11.

When Hurricane Ian hit, John remained in his restaurant. He ended up among the hundreds who were left stranded after the Category 4 storm pummeled the island.

“The bridge to Sanibel was collapsed in four or five different places, which makes it hard for rescue vehicles to get out there, which left about 1200 people stranded on the island after the hurricane,” Tess said. “Most of the people on the island said they have never seen such devastation.”

John made it his mission to help folks as they were stuck.

“He built his own charcoal grill and got out all of the food he was able to salvage from the freezer, and he was able to start cooking for people that started congregating by the restaurant,” Tess told Channel 11. “He only evacuated once he was completely out of food and was able to feed everyone. He wanted everyone to be able to get off of the island before he could. He wanted to stay and help.”

Tess told Channel 11 that her father is always the first person to spring into action and assist people in need, so she decided to provide a way for people to help him in return. She’s launched a GoFundMe, which raised more than $13,000 as of Monday evening.

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