Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
The annual free meal in Portales is scheduled from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
El Rancho Restaurant's community Christmas dinner will be held 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Christmas Day and is open to anyone looking for fellowship during the holidays, according to co-owner Joey Garcia.
PORTALES — A Portales staple will soon be offering warmth and hospitality to anyone who might need it on Christmas.
El Rancho Restaurant will hold a free lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 25, according to co-owner Joey Garcia.
The meal, which El Rancho has held for the past 12 years, came about after Garcia observed the massive gatherings his family would hold on Christmas day.
"I just thought that was such a beautiful thing — that a family that big could actually like each other enough that we would all gather and enjoy Christmas together — that I just really felt for folks that might not have that," he said, "and so, community has always been a big thing for us at El Rancho, and we just wanted to give back to folks that either don't have a place to go or don't have the means to have a good Christmas lunch."
According to Garcia, the lunch will include an enchilada buffet, beans and rice, posole, and deserts that have been donated by various community members. A children's menu, including tacos and quesadillas, will also be available.
While the meal has sometimes featured entertainment like Christmas carols in the past, he said that it is never planned.
"As far as us putting that all together, we just always left it open to what God would have for that day. It's happened in the past. We haven't invited anybody to do that, but it's certainly welcome," he said.
Garcia invited any community members that do not have the privilege of being near their loved ones on Christmas -or that are just in need of fellowship - to attend.
"More and more, I just feel like people are away from their families, or lots of people have to work or different things like that. This is a really tight-knit community, and we just wanted to give back some of that on a special day when most families get together," he said. "We wanted to be able to provide that same type of environment for anybody that might need that. We recognize that that might be a need for some people, and it was just placed on my heart to do that."
Volunteers are also welcome at the lunch, according to Garcia, who added that opportunities to serve food and drinks are always available.
"We do all of the cooking and all of the stuff that they don't have to worry about, and we just allow them to serve," he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call El Rancho at 575-359-0098.
