Popular Houston restaurant hands out 5,000 Thanksgiving meals

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Chris Williams, the executive chef at Lucille's in Houston's Museum District, has spent a large portion of the pandemic giving back to the community.

A day before Thanksgiving, Williams and his team donated 5,000 hot meals to neighborhoods including the historic Third Ward and Acres Homes.

"It's necessary work," said Williams. "The immediate reward that we got from this is when you see the person that's receiving the meal and you see the look on their face. People think food's not a big deal, but it's everything."

Earlier this summer, Williams began an initiative to take care of workers in the hospitality industry. Lucille's started hosting a different local bar on its patio each Thursday night.

The featured bar of the evening was able to keep all of its sales and tips.

READ MORE: Lucille's opens its back patio to shuttered bar workers in Houston