Miller’s Oven in Manotick: A restaurant created for seniors, by seniors
Christmas in July celebration set for Wednesday, July 25
For the fourth year, there will be a Christmas in July celebration at Miller’s Oven restaurant in Manotick. This year, Christmas in July will be held Wednesday, July 25.
The non-profit restaurant is operated by the Miller’s Oven Seniors Committee. Staffed by volunteers since 1983, the restaurant was created for seniors, by seniors, and in December will celebrate their 35th anniversary. “We are a family-friendly destination for all ages,” said volunteer manager Anne Mask. “We have a lot of families coming to the Oven, especially on weekends.”
For Christmas in July, there’s a full turkey dinner, stuffing, cranberries, “the works,” said Mask, “including cranberry-apple cream cheese pie, our Mile High lemon pie — always a big seller — and likely a pumpkin pie as well.”
The heritage building will sport Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree.
The Christmas meal will be served during their usual lunch hours, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or until they run out of turkey.
Another special treat is their occasional high teas for which they sell 46 tickets each time. The next high tea will be June 14, and tickets can be purchased at Miller’s Oven.
The volunteer board, under chair Colin Crosbie, meets once a month, and three times a year the senior volunteers enjoy a social get-together.
Each day there is a volunteer manager and a number of volunteer servers. “We can always use more volunteers,” Mask said, “because they come and go. We don’t care if they can give us three or four hours; people are volunteering their time, and we take them when they can come in. We can always use student volunteers as well. Students must be 12, and high school students can obtain their volunteer hours at the Oven. We do hire students to work in our kitchen on the weekends.”
Mask’s only cooking experience was cooking for family, but she’s still a longtime regular volunteer at Miller’s Oven. “My dad was one of the originals volunteering at Miller’s Oven,” she said. “My mother, my aunt, my uncle and one of my daughters also volunteered. My family grew up in Miller’s Oven.”
Last year, to give back to the community, Miller’s Oven made a monetary donation to the Manotick Food Bank and to Lazarus House, which supports the rural poor, offering food, clothing and household goods to those in need.
“We partnered with Rural Ottawa South Support Services this past April to provide Meals on Wheels,” said Mask. “It was a bit of an adjustment for our cook; we wouldn’t exist without our fabulous cook, Kerry Crosby. She makes everything. We can always use volunteer cooks during the week to cook with Kerry.”
Miller’s Oven is located at 1137 Mill St. in Manotick, and now has a patio on the side. It’s wheelchair accessible with a ramp.
They are open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. While meal service ends at 2:30 p.m., desserts and beverages are available the last half-hour. Reservations can be made by calling 613-692-4304, which is especially appreciated for larger groups.