Penn Diner to host free Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day set aside for family and friends to get together and celebrate. But for those less fortunate or without family in the area, there can be little to celebrate. That’s why one area restaurant is opening its doors and providing a free meal all afternoon on Thanksgiving Day to anyone who’s interested.

Penn Diner, 785 Starr St., will host a free Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 24 from 2-7 p.m. The meal includes a roast turkey with all the trimmings. Parties of six people or more are asked to make a reservation. Others can just walk in.

While this year marks the first time the diner will host the meal, it’s an annual tradition for the Omar family, who, for the past 17 years have hosted it at Christine’s Family Restaurant in Audubon.

Wissam Omar and his father Sam say the free dinner is a way for all community members to come and feel like they can celebrate Thanksgiving together.

“You know how big it is in the states for Thanksgiving; everybody gets together for dinner,” Wissam said. “Not everybody is fortunate enough to have a big meal with family.”

Sam, 54, emigrated to the United States from Cairo, Egypt, in 1986 and started the tradition at Christine’s in 1997, following a decade of managing the Marriot Hotel in Somerset, N.J.

Since then the meal has grown in popularity because people who couldn’t normally afford the big meal could still get one, and because people who don’t have family can feel like they still belong to one.

“Maybe we can get everybody to feel the family atmosphere at my restaurant,” Sam said.

For more information about the event, call 484493-4064.