'I Owe The Community': Eatery Owner Gives Out Free Whole Turkeys

PLAINFIELD, IL — While restaurants across the state are struggling to remain afloat amid the pandemic, the owner of a popular Plainfield eatery decided to give back to the community.

As a child, Wesam Doleh, would see his father distributing food to the less fortunate. This gesture became an inherent part of his life and inspired his actions as an adult. A few days before Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, he spent the entire day giving out free frozen turkeys to those in need.

"During these trying times with a lot of people out of jobs because of the pandemic and it being hard for people to put food on the table, I wanted to lessen the burden on them by giving them a turkey for Thanksgiving," said Doleh, who runs Savino's Beef & Gyros in the village.

He said he ran out of turkeys and had to make several runs to the supermarket because he gave them to anyone who stopped by, "no questions asked." The turkeys were bought by him and the need to help people eclipsed any financial strain this might have put on his business.

"I give out food to the community because I feel that I owe the community an obligation to give back to them when they need it most. No one forced me or pressured me to do this," Doleh said. "This not the first time during the pandemic where I gave food out, we donated to Edward ER here in Plainfield to first responders and nurses. We provided free lunch for students that were at home during the school closures from March-June."

Doleh has owned Savino's for a little over a year now and despite the challenges of the pandemic, he was able to adapt to the changes, not only helping the business, but also Plainfield residents by curating pocket-friendly family-sized meals. They are currently doing take-out only as he said he is obeying Gov. J.B. Pritzker's orders and keeping indoor dining suspended.

Since there is no space for heat lamps outside, the restaurant will continue with curbside pickup only where people can socially distance and wait their cars for the food.

Doleh said he is grateful for the support he has received from Plainfield over the past few months and it "brightens my day" every time they place an order to write about his food on social media.

"Without this community there would be no business and I would not have the opportunity to give back and do the things that I love doing the most, which is make people happy with my food," he said.

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