TROY — An annual effort to bring the community together for a sit-down meal and fellowship will continue this year on Thanksgiving Day.
El Sombrero restaurant in Troy, located at 1700 N. County Road 25A, will again offer a free Thanksgiving feast to the public for the 22nd year.
Continuing to fulfill a promise he made to his mother to help his community, Ruben Pelayo, owner, will offer its annual community dinner from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24 — or until the last visitor is served, Pelayo said.
Pelayo said he has continued the free meal for a number of reasons, including making his mom and “American mom” Judy Rose proud. Serving the community, something also close to Pelayo’s heart, also propels him.
“It’s not just me. Yes, we started (the meal), but the community has kept it going,” said Pelayo, who has been honored by several organizations for his work in the community. “It’s the customers that volunteer and help keep it going for others who need — or want — this Thanksgiving meal.”
“It’s really a gift from Ruben’s heart. He has a need to help the community,” Rose said. “His mom brought him up very well.”
The meal — a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings — will be offered for dine-in only. This year’s feast will include turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and pumpkin pie. There will be no carry-out or deliveries.
Both Pelayo and Rose stress that while they absolutely want to reach out to those in need, the meal is for anyone who wishes to have a good dinner or socialize with others.
“We have families that have made it their tradition to be here for Thanksgiving,” Rose said. “This is for the community. We want everybody to come and let us serve them.”
Employees begin cooking the some 125 turkeys the week prior to Thanksgiving in order to have them all ready for the dinner.
“I find it fun to come in the week before and smell turkeys cooking instead of Mexican food,” Rose said.
Rose said a core group of about 12 people help to plan the dinner each year, however, many more volunteers — most longtime customers — help in the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day.
Employees, many from Mexico, are paid, and see the holiday as just another day of work, Rose said, as Thanksgiving is not recognized in their country. Rose said the Mexican employees actually get a kick out of the Thanksgiving meal, because turkeys are prepared much differently in Mexico. She said turkeys are cooked for long periods of time and stretched out over several traditional Mexican dishes.
The meal again will be a sit-down dinner, with each visitor being personally served.
“It’s like when you have people come to your home. You sit them down and wait on them,” said Rose, who said they see a lot of doctors and nurses on shift at UVMC come in for a quick meal. “Older people especially appreciate it.”
In recent years, the restaurant has received help from the public and vendors to offset the cost of the dinner. However, Rose said in all, the dinner will cost upwards of $16,000 to serve the thousands of area residents that will visit. Rose said some of their suppliers — like Pepsi — donate supplies for the meal. Community members also drop off turkeys they either have purchased or received from their employers.
Local businesses also have come together to help with the meal. Rose said Dungan & LeFevre of Troy offer jeans days on Fridays, with the employees paying for the privilege. The money is then donated to El Sombrero prior to the meal to help offset expenses.
“We are most thankful for the donations,” Rose said.
A table with homemade items, many made by Rose herself, also is set up in the Troy restaurant. And, any money made from the items — including handmade hats, slippers, scarves, snowmen and even bags of buttons — is put directly into the fund for the annual meal.
Pelayo said he plans to continue the annual outreach to the community for as long as he can.
“I hope another 20 years, God willing,” Pelayo said.
Any leftover food from the meal is immediately donated to the Bethany Center in Piqua and St. Patrick Soup Kitchen in Troy, according to Pelayo. So much so that Rose said she sometimes can’t manage enough turkey to have a sandwich the day after.
“Whatever is left, it goes to the soup kitchens,” said Pelayo, who also supports both with monthly meat donations. “It serves the same purpose, feeding those who need it.”
Preparations for the next Thanksgiving event start the minute they close the doors on this year’s Thanksgiving Day dinner, Rose said. She said as soon as the restaurant is cleaned up, she and Pelayo sit down with the group of core volunteers and discuss what went well and any problems that came up. She said they then take notes and work on solving the problems for the next year.
