“Maybe I don’t make any money that day, but I feel happy to do that. I do this every year, and I will keep doing this as long as I live.”
For the last decade, George Dimopoulos has been doing something spectacular on Thanksgiving.
Instead of shutting down his restaurant, he opens the doors of George’s Senate Coney Island all day for anyone who may be alone on Thanksgiving Day.
Though he’s been doing this the past 10 years, his Turkey Day tradition just went viral after somebody posted the following picture of this note to the web:
The handwritten noteposted on his storefront window is an open invitation for the homeless or anyone who’s just plain ‘alone’ to get a hearty meal on Thanksgiving/
He serves free breakfast, lunch, and dinner from 6:30am-9pm for anyone who walks through his doors, and he even has some people come back for multiple meals.
“I’m a very good cook,” he told TODAY.com. “I cook a lot of good food, and I give a lot of food to people. I don’t tell people that I do this; I do this because I believe in God and believe that there are people who need a little help.”
“They need a little attention and help. That’s what I believe. I don’t care how much it costs. I make good money, so I can help those people,” he added.
The restaurant owner does the same thing for Easter too. It is a tradition that is close to his heart.
The Greek Michigan immigrant came to the United Stateswhen he was 23, and he’ll never forget how it felt to be homeless in Athens as a child, relying on strangers for food.
He serves about 100 people every holiday, and he donates food on top on that as well. There will never be a hungry belly as long as George is around.
“Maybe I don’t make any money that day, but I feel happy to do that. I do this every year, and I will keep doing this as long as I live,” says George.