Restaurant owner continues her tradition of serving Thanksgiving dinner to community

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO/Gray News) - This year marks 22 years for a restaurant owner in Kentucky preparing Thanksgiving dinner for those in her community.

Laura Jacobs, the owner of Laura’s Stockyard Café, has spent about 36 hours in the kitchen every Thanksgiving since 2001 making holiday meals for community members to pick up ahead of time.

“I just love cooking. My mama taught me how to cook, so I just love cooking for people,” Jacobs said.

Aside from her love of cooking, Jacobs said that her helping hand gives people the opportunity to focus on other things like spending time with their loved ones.

“I enjoy doing things for people and helping people out,” she said. “By us doing their dinners, it gives them time to just enjoy their families more.”

With the help of a loyal crew, she was able to distribute 19 turkey dinners this year, a day before Thanksgiving.

“Most of them have been with me for about 10 to 15 years,” she said. “My cousin has been with me for 20-something years.”

If you are looking to order a Thanksgiving dinner from Laura’s this year, you’ll have to wait as all orders have already been served and distributed.

But Jacobs said she plans on continuing her Thanksgiving tradition next year.

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