Lynn deli ready for long night of prepping to host free Thanksgiving meal

LYNN, Mass. — As many of us are preparing for our Thanksgiving meals Thursday, a group of volunteers at a deli in Lynn are still working to prepare a much bigger meal – one they expect to be for hundreds of people.

"People, they can't wait for this night," said George Markos, owner of Brothers Deli in Lynn. "We've been up since Wednesday morning and we will say up."

Markos started the tradition of a massive free Thanksgiving meal in 1992 in his father's memory. He now serves hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand people every year.

"So we started with a little back and it became a big back," he said.

But the night before is a big production to get ready. Thankfully Markos has a lot of help – dozens of volunteers who come every year.

Related: Travel advisories for Thanksgiving week

"The same people that started then are the same people," Markos said. "Now they used to bring their kids as a baby like 3, 4, 5 years old, now their kids are 30 years old and they still continue coming."

"I work in the court house so it’s kind of my way of giving back to the community I grew up in," said Terry Ward of Lynn.

The volunteers will work until the sun comes up. They have 2,500 lbs. of turkey to prep, 1,000 lbs. Each of potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes to peel along with all the fixings. They say it's all worth it.

"Lynn is a very unique place," Markos said. "We are very diverse, we are very unique, all connected […] no matter what happens, we are all connected in Lynn."

And anyone is welcome to come.

"People who have no place to go, people who have no families, they want to be with family here. People they have no money, people they have money, I never ask people, 'why are you here?'"

Brother's Deli is open Thanksgiving Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cox Media Group