Theo & Stacy’s cancels Thanksgiving meals

Every year for 47 years, Theo & Stacy’s restaurant in downtown Kalamazoo has been giving out free Thanksgiving meals to anyone in the community who stops in. With COVID-19 infections on the rise, the restaurant is giving it a pass this year.

New orders that went into effect Wednesday mean restaurants can’t serve people indoors, and that makes Theo & Stacy’s annual tradition difficult to pull off.

“We shut down, how can we do it? We can’t. The people expect for us to do it but we can’t. Our hands are tied,” owner Stacy Skartsiaris in an interview with WWMT.

Skartsiaris said they typically serve between 1,800 and 2,400 free meals on Thanksgiving. Many of their recipients are their regular customers who may not have anyone to spend the holiday with.

The restaurant will still be open for take-out meals, and Skartsiaris said they will be donating to local charities in lieu of their traditional Thanksgiving largess.

You can read more here.