Restaurant To Serve 250 Meals For Needy

STOCKTON (CBS13) – A restaurant owner who usually delivers hot meals to the homeless every holiday is taking things a step further and opening up her restaurant on Christmas Day to the less fortunate.

Love Café owner Barbara Duncan says the first 250 people to stop by her restaurant on Christmas will get a turkey dinner with all the fixings.

"We give the food that we love to eat," Duncan said. "My heart says let them dine with us."

The Louisiana native -- nicknamed "Mama Love" due to her frequent help for the homeless -- said she is still trying to make a name for her new soul food restaurant (Map) during tough economic times, but felt that this was the year to give back in a bigger way.

"This year my husband said, 'Baby, do you think we can give to feed 250?'" she said. "I said, 'You know, people have just lost jobs, we have a lot of people that are hurting… we'll go for it.'"

The food will be served on Christmas Day from noon to 4:00 p.m.

Duncan says she hopes to make this a holiday tradition.