Krush Kirtz, 2, Ypsilanti, eats a spoonful of mashed potatoes with a little help from his mother Wednesday afternoon at Z-George's Coney Island in Ypsilanti Township. Z-George's was serving free Thanksgiving dinners.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Zeidan, manager at Z George's Coney Island, said he had hoped to provide a free Thanksgiving meal to at least 1,000 guests Wednesday.

The Ypsilanti Township restaurant opened its doors at 3 p.m. and area residents looking for a free, traditional Thanksgiving meal piled in. Zeidan estimated about 35 people had arrived by about 3:15 and free meals were served till 6 p.m.

Guests were invited to seat themselves and plates full of turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberries were delivered to them by servers. A large white bucket at the front of the restaurant collected cash donations, which, Zeidan says, will be donated to two area churches and used for charitable causes.

"If somebody wants to leave a buck they can, if they don't want to, they don't have to," he said. "One year we had leftover food, we gave it to charity."

Rodney Sopha, of Ypsilanti Township, ate his meal with coffee.

"It's very good," he said between bites. "This will be my Thanksgiving dinner."

When asked what he thought of the concept of an area restaurant offering a free holiday meal he said, "I thought it was great."

Uneek Darby, of Ypsilanti, dined with a few friends.

"I think this is wonderful, this is lovely," she said.

Carol Moore settled into a booth of her own and read a book while she ate.

When asked why she came out, the Ann Arbor woman replied, "I've got a cold, I didn't feel like cooking. And I've got a house full of chores that I didn't feel like doing."

She added, "It's wonderful community relations. When you give back people notice."

Zeidan, who has managed a number of restaurants in Michigan said being able to offer a free Thanksgiving meal is his "first condition" when taking a job.

He said he was inspired to offer a free holiday meal to the community in 1990 while working at a restaurant in Wayne, called Alex's Garden Patch.

"This gentleman came in and he was soaked (from the rain). His name was Joe. He ordered a cup of water," Zeidan recalled.

Zeidan said he asked the customer why he didn't order a cup of coffee or bowl of soup to warm up, and he told him he had no money. So, Zeidan said, he gave the man a free coffee and said, "Joe, bring all your buddies and come by for a free Thanksgiving dinner."

"His buddies turned out to be about 200 people," Zeidan said with a laugh. "We made it a tradition from that point."

Photo slideshow by Lon Howedel | AnnArbor.com

Edgar Johns, of Canton Township, volunteered to help his friend Zeidan. The two play racquetball together several time's a week.

"Any small contribution that I can make is well worth it," he said, taking a break from preparing food in the kitchen. "That's a pile of turkeys ... I'm surprised (Zeidan) had time to play racquetball with me."

Fawzi Zeidan, Zeidan's son and one of the restaurant's owners, said the tradition almost didn't continue this year, which would have meant two consecutive years without the free meal, as it was not offered last year due to a family medical emergency.

"It was a little tough year on us this year," he said. "(But I said) you've been doing it for 20 years (since before I was born), what's the point in stopping now."

Fawzi Zeidan added, "Everybody needs a helping hand, you know, and I'm glad it's us who can give it."

Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.