River Forest resident Matt Stamm has spent the majority of his life working in Chicagoland restaurants, beginning in high school at a family-owned and operated restaurant. He’s now the general manager of a Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in River North.Stamm, the second youngest of seven kids, says he began using drugs and alcohol “as a way to escape life,” and cope with the “insecurities of being a teenager.
Stamm says he struggled with addiction for years. “I hid my drug use and alcohol use from everyone in my life.” Founded in 2016 by Charleston-based restaurateurs Steve Palmer and Mickey Baskt to honor Ben Murray, a chef who died by suicide after struggling with alcohol use, Ben’s Friends’ mission is to “offer community, hope and a path forward for those struggling with substance abuse and addiction.”
“It’s a place to talk about what’s heavy on your heart, to trust people that understand you on a level much deeper than someone in another program could really understand … experience being around alcohol and drug use and the chaos of a busy restaurant life,” he said. “Getting sober is really hard.”