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player ready...A tradition returns Thursday when staff at The Village Squire restaurant in South Elgin joins with members of the village police department and volunteers to host a free Thanksgiving dinner for 150 people in need.
“It’s been a long time since the Squire has done this,” restaurant owner Bob Karas said.
Back in the day, Karas’ father, Paul, held similar Thanksgiving dinners many times at the restaurant’s West Dundee location, he said. Chef John Harnisch would arrange all the meals and work with local shelters to find people in need of a holiday meal.
The idea of resurrecting the gathering at the South Elgin restaurant was the result of the professional relationship Karas has formed with South Elgin police Officer Jim Creighton.
“Jim and I have been working with local organizations to feed people in need the last few years,” Karas said. “I thought it would be nice to do something in a pleasant environment like the Squire, where maybe some of these people never have had the opportunity to visit.”
He added that Creighton’s volunteer work in the South Elgin area has been a motivating factor to him as well.
“Jim has inspired me to do more for our community and the less fortunate,” he said. “His service has also inspired me to do more work with the Salvation Army, Special Olympics and the Boys & Girls Club.”
The two also work with local school districts and provide programs for special needs students.
To find guests to invite to the Thanksgiving dinner, Creighton said he consulted with staff at South Elgin schools, the police department’s social worker and administrators at the local Boys & Girls Club.
“I also sought input and nominations from my colleagues,” he said, “who have come across a family or individual who, for whatever reason, could use a Thanksgiving meal.”
The South Elgin Jewel-Osco store and Sam’s Club are donating a lot of the food for the meal, Karas said. The restaurant will provide whatever else is needed, he said, and all the food will be cooked at the restaurant by Chef Mike Sahin.
Members of the Karas family, Village Squire employees, South Elgin police staff and their families, and other volunteers will assist and serve the meals between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Everyone volunteering at the dinner — and any village first responders who are working on Thanksgiving Day — also will be fed, Creighton said.
“They’ll all be a part of this very special Thanksgiving meal,” he said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.