Multiple restaurant owners do not want neighbors on Padre Island to spend the holiday alone. Two of the restaurants who welcome people in on Turkey Day are Hardknocks Sports Grill and Black Sheep Bistro.
The owner of Hardknocks Sports Grill, Rod Lewis, hosts a Thanksgiving potluck meal at his restaurant every year. This Thanksgiving marks the 13th annual.
“They just need to bring a smile, and a dish if they can," Lewis said.
Lewis came up with the idea to host a Thanksgiving potluck after he and his daughter had an unpleasant experience at Luby's on Thanksgiving years ago.
“We went to a cafeteria, my daughter and I, and had Thanksgiving, and it was the most depressing Thanksgiving of our life. So, I promised my daughter we would never do that again," Lewis said.
Now, he hosts about 300 neighbors who all bring something to contribute. He said it gets bigger and bigger every year.
“There will be people that drive by that are staying in hotels, and they’ll see all the cars. They walk in thinking that we’re open looking for a restaurant and we invite them in. We have a family that this is their 4th year coming from Oklahoma for this Thanksgiving," Lewis said.
The family from Oklahoma that Rod now calls his dear friends, are the Hohlier's.
“We lived in Oklahoma at that time four years ago and this April we bought a house here on the island and we’re now permanent residents here on the island," Mike Hohlier said.
Mike and his wife accidentally stumbled into the Hardknocks Thanksgiving potluck four years ago when they were visiting the island for Thanksgiving and were looking for somewhere to eat dinner.
They came back to Hardknocks from Oklahoma every Thanksgiving since then, and this year, they are now full-time residents of the island.
“Their heart is just such a loving heart, and accepting and open heart. We wanted to be a part of that," Hohlier said.
Hardknocks is not the only restaurant on the island that welcomes people in on Thanksgiving. Another one is Black Sheep Bistro.
“We want to serve the community. We want to be there for people that don’t have a place," Glenn Mier, the owner of Black Sheep Bistro said.
Black Sheep Bistro stays open from 1-5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and serves a Thanksgiving meal at a set price to customers with a reservation, or walk-ins.
“We have plenty of food for everybody. But we do accept walk-ins because we try to care of anybody that doesn’t have a place to go," Mier said.
Neighbors on the island say that at the end of the day, its about spending quality time together and making memories.
“You know, we enjoy each others company. It’s the fellowship and its just bringing us together," Lewis said.
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