A new sign found on the front of Shish Restaurant in southeast London has gone viral this week.
While most establishments remained closed on Christmas, Shish decided to not only stay open but to offer a free three-course meal for the homeless.
The words “No one eats alone on Christmas Day, We are here to sit with you,” were expertly drawn on the restaurant’s plate glass window and the note below was taped to the front door,
Two managers came up with the idea after he had an emotional encounter with an elderly woman. “What she said was, ‘On Christmas day, I’m going to be alone,'” Irfan Can Genc said to NPR. “When [the other manager] told me about this I was like, ‘Look, we need to sit down. No one should be alone on a special day like this.'”
Customer Vicky Lanfear took a photo of the sign and shared it on Facebook where it quickly went viral. “You need to be aware of this beautiful thing Shish Rest in sidcup are doing on Christmas Day for the homeless and elderly,” she wrote. “This is the most selfless gesture I have ever seen and they should be recognised as a pillar of the community! #goodwillamongstmen”
Homeless patrons received a free three-course meal comprised of soup and cacik, two casseroles, chicken shish, and rice pudding.
The Muslim-owned restaurant hopes to build new bridges between religious communities. “We’re here to say that we’re not bad people,” Genc says. “Christmas is a special day. It says in the Quran that it is a special day. Everyone’s going to be with their families, eating loads of food, drinking, having lots of fun. Why should other certain people be left out?”
While thousands of people complain about which words to say or what color cup their coffee is served in, the Shish restaurant managed to embody the true meaning of Christmas with a simple act of charity.
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