STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — For the 18th year, Applebee’s restaurants nationwide are feeding veterans on Veterans Day — but on Staten Island, the tradition comes with a heartfelt twist that’s become a borough-wide custom.

Krista Barreca, general manager of the Applebee’s at 2720 Veterans Road West, spearheads a card-writing campaign now in its third year. What began as a small gesture has grown into an effort that gathers roughly 500 handwritten notes annually from community members to honor local veterans. The cards — collected through Facebook outreach — come from churches, Scout troops and organizations across the borough.

“I grew up here, so I reached out on Facebook — and the response was overwhelming,” Barreca said. “People really wanted to do something personal for our veterans. It’s no

See Full Page