Kekuli Cafe in Kamloops, Merritt serving free hot meals Christmas Day

The Kekuli Café in Merritt has an established tradition of opening its doors to the community on Christmas morning, offering free coffee and food, and this year a second location in Kamloops is taking part.

For the owner of both locations, Merritt resident Elijah Mack-Stirling, the act of community service comes naturally and is a way to bring comfort to others during a time of year that is difficult for so many.

“My mom has always made a big pot of soup or stew and bannock, and go hand it around the community,” he said. “Especially to the ones on the streets. It’s very hard to be in that position and be welcomed in an establishment. Mom raised us to go and help people.”

With a group of friends and family members, Mack-Stirling has served roughly 6,000 plates of hot food on Christmas mornings at the Merritt location over the years. The tradition started when Mack-Stirling’s family was sitting around on a quiet, Christmas morning.

“I said, ‘mom, we should just go and serve the people,'” he said. “We opened up the restaurant and walked around town inviting people to join us for a meal. We probably served 70 people that morning.  It became a family tradition. We don’t get ready for Christmas, we get ready for Christmas Day to serve everybody.”

Mack-Stirling attempted to offer the same Christmas service at his second, Kamloops location at 300 Columbia Street the same year he purchased it in 2022. But being so new in the community the effort was only moderately successful.

A series of personal challenges for the family has delayed efforts to open the Kamloops location on Christmas since, but this week, Mack-Stirling is trying it again.

“This year there were more deaths in my family, but I decided I can’t just keep putting it off, this is something we love to do,” he said. “The Kamloops people need support too.”

Free coffee, pancakes and bannock will be served at the Kamloops location between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Christmas Day. Everyone is welcome, including those who are alone, those who are facing poverty and those who don’t celebrate Christmas.

“This can be a hard day for a lot of people, it’s a huge time for doubt, low self-esteem and grieving,” Mack-Stirling said. “The walks of life that come through the door, especially on Christmas, is humbling. You think you’re at a low point and someone comes in and tells you their story.”

At the Merritt location at 2051 Voght Street, the doors are open for free breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“At the end of the day, we just love to share hot plates of food and hear the stories, and sometimes that’s all you need in life,” Mack-Stirling said. “This is where the holiday spirit can come in. The music will be on, coffee will be on and the grill will be on.”

Donations welcome at both locations.