Restaurant’s giving tradition continues serving community
John Fletcher (center), owner of Vega Cafe and Smokehaus in Norris, and manager Tere- sa Mundal hand out dinners during the cafe’s annual giveaway on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
Those receiving the food were treated to individual dinner plates of fresh smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, a fresh-baked roll, and sliced carrots.
Restaurant owner and head chef John Fletcher said a total of 250 meals were prepared for the event, with 50 of them earmarked for the Norris Garden Apartments.
The rest were given to people who showed up at the café. About 15 people were in line when the door was opened at noon.
Each meal was in a single-serving aluminum container, ready to be heated up.
This year’s Thanksgiving handout was the fourth for Fletcher, who began the gesture in 2020 during the pandemic with 200 meals given out. He prepared 300 dinners for Thanksgiving 2021 and 2022, but had some left over.
“We were very new in business … when the pandemic hit, and when we had to shut down in March [2020] for the pandemic, I thought that probably was going to be the end for us,” Fletcher said earlier.
“But we decided to offer takeout food while our dining room was closed, and that saved us,” he said. “The community really responded well and helped save us until we could start opening for dine-in service again.”
He decided to hand out the Thanksgiving dinners in 2020 as a way to give back to the community for its support, he said.
The program has become popular in Norris.
“This is for anyone, including people on fixed budgets, or home alone, or first-responders — anyone who needs a meal,” Fletcher said.
The cafe did accept donations for the dinner handout, to help defray some of the costs.
John Fletcher (center), owner of Vega Cafe and Smokehaus in Norris, and manager Teresa Mundal hand out dinners during the cafe’s annual giveaway on Wednesday, Nov. 22.