Notes from Table 12......

Question for the day...
Does your restaurant have a plan for saying thank-you during the holidays?

A few years ago my husband and I were alone for Thanksgiving. It was just the two of us so we decided to go to a restaurant on a town not far away that had advertised “An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Dinner” from noon to 5 p.m. We had never spent a holiday in a restaurant before and I wasn’t sure what emotions I would feel eating without friends or family. I was in for a nice surprise.
We drove about 30 miles to one of our favorite places to eat on special occasions. As we walked in the door, we were greeted by an elderly couple who said, “Welcome to our place. We are so glad you came. Would you prefer a sit-down, family-type meal or our buffet? The food is the same for either meal.” They gave us a card listing the dinner items and the price for each type of meal. The price for the buffet was a little less because of the need for less service, so since there were only 2 of us we opted for that.
The lady escorted us to the stairs where several young people, dressed for the season were waiting. The woman leading the way said, “John would you take these folks to the buffet area? Tell them about Thanksgiving Dinner at our house.” The boy smiled and said, “Sure. I am John, one of the restaurant family members. Every year we get to come to work with our folks on Christmas or Thanksgiving. Let’s go into the buffet area and I will tell you the rest of the story.”
John took us to our small table for two in a room that was warm with all the turkey and fixin’s smells coming from the buffet over in the corner. Music was playing and the table had a small centerpiece in the middle. John asked “May I sit down with you for a minute and tell the rest of our story or are you in a hurry?” We were so glad that this was not going to be a “fast-food” experience that we urged him to go on with the story. John continued, “Mr. Atkinson, our owner, grew up in a home far from any of his extended family. He was an only child. He and his parents decided, when he was about 8 years old that rather than spend the holidays home by themselves, they would help serve the holiday meal at a nearby homeless shelter. The shelter provided a free meal to anyone who was alone at Thanksgiving or Christmas whether or not they were homeless. It became the family’s favorite holiday tradition. When Mr. Atkinson grew up he opened this restaurant, which has been very successful. He contributes to the meals for the homeless by providing the food. One year, he and his staff were discussing whether or not they should stay open for Thanksgiving. They decided if they could make it a homelike meal, there were people who would opt for this instead of staying home and ordering pizza because there is no place to go or their family is too far away. Really, they are not homeless but they are without family.”
The story was interrupted when a woman came to our table with a cup of cranberry punch for each of us. She said to John, “I see you’re telling our family story. Sorry to interrupt. Would you like some punch?” “No,” said John, “I’m saving up for our family dinner at 6 p.m.” “Well,” I said, “it is obvious everyone decided to keep the restaurant open. How long have you been doing this?” He said, “This is our 5th year. We all have a great time because we can come with our folks and help out. Afterwards we have our family dinner here at the restaurant. After the dinner, we sing songs, play a couple of games, and a movie is available for the little kids. We do the same thing on Christmas Eve day from noon to 5 p.m. Of course, at our family dinner afterwards, Santa Claus appears and everyone gets a gift.”
“Sounds like you really enjoy this.” I said. “Yes, but I haven’t told you the best part. At our Family Thanksgiving Dinner Mr. Atkinson gives every family who works here 3 gift cards to the restaurant as part of our folk’s bonus. They are to give gift cards to people they know who are going through a rough time. The gift cards include a shopping trip at the shopping center here in town. That’s really the best part.”
We had never heard such a story. It made our first holiday season alone very special. What a way to thank the community and a treat for those who would normally spend the holiday alone!