Pizzeria in Ohio Closes to Customers on Thanksgiving and Opens to the Homeless

Bada Bing! is a small pizza shop in Springfield, Ohio, that is doing something awesome this Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday, the owners posted a sign in their window announcing that the pizzeria will be closed on Thanksgiving. Not a big deal, you may think. However, it’s the second part of the message that caught so much attention after a photo of the sign was posted to Facebook. The owners basically invited anyone who doesn’t have enough money to buy themselves food to join them for a Thanksgiving dinner.

“We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. However, we will be having dinner around 2 p.m. with our family, employees, and friends. If you are hungry, or don’t have any money, please come in. We will welcome you and make sure you get plenty to eat.”

It seems that many people were touched by this selfless gesture of kindness. The photo is going viral on Facebook and got more than 8,000 shares in just two days! The story was also featured on TV and received tons of positive feedback.

Bada Bing! owner Jason Hague says that his decision to open the doors to the homeless has also inspired many other people to volunteer and help out with the dinner.

“Come dinnertime last night, we were just so inundated with not just customers, but people just coming in that wanted to help out and donate their time, services, or money to helping out with this cause,” Hague said in an interview to Upworthy.

For example, one employee of the pizzeria donated four turkeys while an elementary school child, a frequent customer of the shop, proposed to entertain dinner guests with magic tricks.

Hague feels very humbled that his gesture has attracted so much attention and that so many people are willing to help him with this. He is also a bit nervous about how many people are going to come as there probably will be more guests than expected. On the other hand, Hague is happy to welcome anyone who wants to join the dinner:

“We’ll open up our hearts and our dining room so if anyone wants Thanksgiving dinner they’re more than welcome to join us,” he told Fox45.

Photo credit: Bada Bing! Pizzeria Facebook page