When the owners of heard that was closing — ending the restaurant’s traditional free meal on Thanksgiving — they decided to step in to fill the void.
They’ve created a new event called “The Feed” on Thanksgiving at The Squeaky Bean with plans to serve 3,000 hungry people from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. They’ll feed 500 people at the restaurant, and volunteers will deliver 2,500 meals.
“The need is there, especially with the housing market going up,” said Josh Olsen, who owns The Squeaky Bean with Johnny Ballen. “We just couldn’t bear to let these people down, even for one year.”
Together, they worked their contacts and met with Rosa Linda Aguirre and her family. “We wanted to get their blessing and their ideas on what we should be doing and who we should be contacting,” Olsen said.
The community response, he said, has been “awesome.”
Local chefs such as Paul Reilly, Theo Adley, Justin Brunson, Lon Symensma, Max MacKissock and Kelly Whitaker signed up to help, along with local businesses and churches. The Warren Tech school in Lakewood — home of Bean Acres, the educational farm of The Squeaky Bean — is pitching in, with students in the culinary arts program helping with preparing, cooking and serving the food.
The Thanksgiving meal will include pulled braised turkey, green bean casserole, farmhouse herbed stuffing, “Grandpa Olsen’s” gravy, and sweet potato casserole. The pie will be made with pumpkins grown at Bean Acres.
Volunteers are needed to prepare and cook the food on the days before Thanksgiving and to serve on Thanksgiving day. People with pickups who can help deliver the food also are needed. , a partner in Feed, at wedontwaste.org.
For information, contact The Squeaky Bean at 303-623-2665 or tsbfeed@gmail.com.
