ANDOVER – West Side Deli of Andover hosted and served about 250 people during a free community Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, Nov. 23.
“Why not,” owner Rick Brest said of his motivations. “I enjoy it – me and (my wife) Tammy enjoy it.”
People could come into West Side Deli at 380 E. Main St. off the Square, sit down and place their order with one of 15 volunteer waitstaff who took their order, got their drinks and placed the order with an assembly line of kitchen workers, according to Brest.
Local businesses made donations of turkeys, vegetables and cash to make the community dinner happen. Causeway Propane donated tanks of gas to cook with and Lil’ Bit Restaurant baked for 200 pieces of pumpkin pie.
“They were good,” Brest half-joked. “Our suppliers donated pie, too, but I wish I’d saved some for me.”
Brest thanked everyone who donated of volunteered.
“I asked my wife, ‘Can we do this,” he said. “She said, ‘Financially? No.’ So I went around to local businesses and they said, ‘Sure – what do you need?’”
While West Side Deli weighed out portions and planned for 300 dinners, about 250 people showed up to dine in or take out their Thanksgiving feast. Brest said about 90 percent of guests sat down inside and ate.
“If we’d have known, we could’ve weighed out bigger portions,” Brest said.
This is the first year Brest and his wife have done the community Thanksgiving dinner in Andover, but they’ve done it the past two years in their other restaurant over the line in Greenville, Pa., where they have served around 400 people both years.
Those dinners required preregistration and were takeout only, according to Brest, since the Greenville restaurant has no sit-down dining area to speak of. The Andover event was geared toward an older community and those staying in the RV parks, so Brest said he wanted to offer them a chance at a sit-down holiday meal.
A new restaurant venture in Greenville, 311 Main Street, will offer a free meal every third Friday, no questions asked, according to Brest. The only rule, he said, was no cellphones during dinner and patrons are asked to volunteer at a future dinner if they’re able.
Brest said he got the idea from JBJ Soul Kitchens, a chain of community restaurants in New Jersey owned by rock singer Jon Bon Jovi, that operate on a “pay-what-you-can” and “pay-it-forward” model. There are no prices on the menu. Instead, diners are asked to make a donation or, if they can’t, to volunteer their time in exchange for a meal.
