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With all the Thanksgiving fixings, Mountain View’s Ristorante Don Giovanni served up plates of turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes on Thursday, much to the delight of patrons who lined up outside the front door to celebrate the annual tradition.
Dressed in his signature pink plaid blazer, long-time owner John Akkaya greeted families, friends and new faces, giving out hugs and fist-bumps as he ushered them into the restaurant to enjoy the complimentary holiday meal on Nov. 23.
For more than 30 years, Akkaya has been serving the community a free Thanksgiving lunch, a tradition that started with his first restaurant, Cafe Figaro in Burlingame in 1989.
The idea began long before he opened his own restaurant, Akkaya said. As a server in Chicago, he saw another restaurant doing it, and vowed that he would do the same if given the opportunity.
That first year when he opened Cafe Figaro, Akkaya pulled out all the stops with a free Thanksgiving meal. “I didn’t go broke,” he laughed. And ever since then, he has continued the tradition, bringing it to Mountain View when he opened Ristorante Don Giovanni, located at 235 Castro St., in 1997.
“Things you have, you share. And things you don’t have, you work for,” Akkaya said, explaining his motivation for feeding the community and his philosophy towards life in general.
This year’s feast was particularly meaningful for Akkaya, as the Thanksgiving meal was put on hold for three years because of the COVID pandemic.
Regular customers, like Mountain View resident Jim Carroll Jones, who brought family members and friends with him, also appreciated the return of the Thanksgiving tradition. “I’ll take my usual table,” he said smiling.
At least 1,500 people would eat at the restaurant that day, Akkaya said, adding that the dining experience was open to the entire community.
Serving about 100 people at a time, a volunteer staff of family and friends brought in heaping plates of food to every section of the dining room, while Akkaya served glasses of milk and water to each table.
His son, Will Akkaya, who now runs Cafe Figaro, said that they have been preparing for weeks, with 150 turkeys ordered for the day.
“This is his happiest day of the year,” he said, looking at his beaming father.
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My family are not regular regulars at this restaurant, but a few times per year over at least the last decade. This is very generous, and includes all people, of all economic status, not just those of us who can afford ‘the regular tab’. Ain’t MV a Wonderfull community – (no question)