Angie’s Restaurant
LOGAN – Since 1990, Angie’s Restaurant at 690 North Main in Logan has offered a free Thanksgiving meal to help Cache Valley families. The meal was offered for those who may not have a place to go or who couldn’t afford a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It also served as an opportunity for others to donate to local causes. But the restaurant announced this week they are ending the annual tradition this year.
“Since this tradition began, the population in Cache Valley has doubled. The popularity of our free Thanksgiving dinners has more than doubled while our kitchen remains the same size,” says Saboor Sahely, restaurant owner and founder. “Our staff has worked 24-hours straight for several days in a row preparing for the free Thanksgiving dinner, cooking and baking thousands of pounds of food from pies to turkeys and stuffing. We’ve now reached logistical constraints where offering the free Thanksgiving dinner is no longer possible.”
Sahely says the restaurant’s ability to provide a quality experience for its customers has grown beyond the resources of its 80 member staff.
But this does not mean the restaurant is ending its tradition of helping others and donating to the community. They plan to donate food and funds to the Cache Community Food Pantry.
“When the Thanksgiving dinner tradition started, our community did not have the same robust resources available today,” Sahely continues in an official release which was also shared on the restaurant’s social media pages. “The Cache Food Pantry was much smaller and did not expand to their current facility until 2012. This year and in the future, Angie’s Restaurant will donate large sums of food to the Cache Food Pantry as a continuation of our giving efforts.”
The restaurant plans to work closely with Director of the Cache Community Food Pantry Matt Whitaker as his organization can help people’s dietary needs on a larger scale.
Within moments of posting the news on its social media pages, dozens of followers posted their appreciation for the restaurant, its history of giving and for providing an opportunity for its employees to enjoy the holiday with their own families now.
“Beginning now, our 80 staff members will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends as we close on Thanksgiving day,” the release concludes. “We are grateful to our team for the many years they have gone above and beyond. We are blessed to call this community home and look forward to supporting the people here with our time, energy and resources.”