Lake Worth restaurant feeds 1,000 on Thanksgiving

LAKE WORTH, Fla. (CBS12) — A restaurant in Lake Worth is making sure local families have a place to spend Thanksgiving with old and new friends over a hot meal.

Feeding those in the community has been a family tradition since the 1980s for the owners of Farmer Girl Restaurant.

After a short hiatus, Petro Bikos, with the help of his staff brought it back.

This is my second year now," Bikos told CBS12 News. "I noticed there is a lot of homeless [people] in need. This community has helped us out drastically throughout the years, so it's my way of giving [back] to the community. It's not just for the homeless, it is also for the people that don't have any family here or are alone.

The family tradition resonates with Albert, who was patiently waiting in line to gobble up one of the delicious plates the Farmer Girl staff was serving up.

"My father had a restaurant in New York back in the '60s and '70s. I was a little boy in the restaurant and every Thanksgiving I remember my parents, from Bueno Aries, would cook Thanksgiving meals for everybody in the neighborhood," he told CBS12 News.

Albert, who drove up from Miami Beach, says without Bikos keeping the tradition alive he would be spending Thanksgiving alone.

"And for that, I’m extremely grateful obviously," Albert told CBS12 News. "Thank God for this day and these people."

While the staff in the back was busy scooping mashed potatoes, pouring graving, and slicing up turkey, the staff in the front was busy seating hungry customers and taking to-go orders.

Last year, Bikos fed 800 local families.

Bikos said the supply chain issues caused some challenges, but they were prepared to feed 1,000.

"Actually this is what I'm grateful for to put a smile on somebody's face," Bikos said. "Knowing if i didn't do this, they may not have put a meal on the table."

"The feeling of Thanksgiving is when people from diversity and we accept each other and love each other," said Farmer Tone.