While a lot of businesses close their doors for the Thanksgiving holiday, that is not the case at the Golden Steer.
Thursday afternoon, while the restaurant may be open, it won’t be for business.
Every year for more than a decade, owners Jim and Suzanne Berrios have closed the front of the restaurant at 1:30 p.m. and re-opened the back room at 2 p.m. to serve turkey and all the fixin’s for hundreds of Kent residents who are down on their luck or have nowhere else to go.
“It’s whatever you would have for Thanksgiving,” Suzanne said this past week, describing the spread of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, veggies and pie that the Berrioses and a small team of volunteers serve up in two shifts.
“We’ve been blessed with what we have and we’ve been given the opportunity to do a feed of this caliber because of the venue,” Jim Berrios said.
“That’s the whole point of the day,” Suzanne Berrios echoed.
The guests for the free dinner are those who receive vouchers from the Kent Food Bank or their church as well as from family advocates in the Kent School District, but their situations are not important.
What is important is on Thanksgiving, they are family.
“That’s what Thanksgiving is,” Suzanne said.
The meal is served in the restaurant’s banquet room, which Suzanne spends time decorating beforehand, with white linen table cloths, cloth napkins and traditional holiday centerpieces.
“We try to have the room really nice,” she said.
The food is served buffet-style by a group of volunteers, all dressed in white shirts and black pants, and then the meal is eaten family-style, with everyone around one (extended) table, instead of heading back to their own booths.
Jim called the atmosphere “very positive” and said the crowd was a mix of homeless, working families and senior citizens.
The food is prepared by the Berrioses and the restaurant staff, but then they are all sent home at 1:30 p.m., when the doors officially close.
“We want our staff to go enjoy their holiday,” Suzanne said.
Jim estimated the restaurant would serve 15-17 turkeys during the two serving shifts. He said his vendors help make the event possible by either donating some items or providing special rates.
For the Berrioses, the event has become a family tradition.
“That’s been our family’s Thanksgiving,” Jim said of the past 11 years, adding that last year, the couple’s son, Josh, surprised them by showing up unexpectedly when he was supposed to be in Arizona as part of the Border Patrol.
Jim said Josh not only surprised them, but also happily resumed his traditional role washing dishes.
“Last year was when it really hit me,” Jim said of the event’s magnitude and importance to him and the family.
“That’s Thanksgiving for our family,” Suzanne agreed.
The Berrioses said the event is usually attended by about 300 people, though one year, the number of guests got up to 401.
“We’ve never turned anyone away,” Suzanne said.
Asked about the cost of hosting such an event each year, Jim said he has never spent the time “doing the math” on the event, instead viewing it as a way to say thanks each year.
“If it was about the revenue we’d be staying open on that day,” he said.
“But it’s not. It’s about family; it’s about community.”
Thanksgiving meal
To receive a voucher for Thanksgiving dinner at the Golden Steer, visit the Kent Food Bank, 515 W. Harrison St., Suite 107. Their hours are 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
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