How one East Bay restaurant made sure Santa left no family behind this Christmas
LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- One restaurant in the East Bay spent Christmas day away from their families to host a gift giveaway for kids and adults.
It was meant for families who may not have otherwise had anything under the tree to unwrap this Christmas.
They say not all heroes wear capes and not all Santas wear red suits.
In this case, Rebel Kitchen and Libations owner Gianni Schell wears a green vest.
Schell just celebrated the 15th anniversary of his restaurant in Livermore.
They survived through multiple shutdowns during the pandemic and on Christmas Day, they were giving back to the same community that kept them afloat.
"There's a lot of people who Christmas is really hard for, so this is our opportunity to maybe just give back a little bit, give them maybe 20 minutes of some Christmas cheer," he said.
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Powered by community donations from schools, churches and customers, Schell invited families in need for a gift giveaway.
No sign-ups, no proof of address, and no questions asked.
"Just show up," he said.
That they did, as a line of people waited outside an hour before they started.
"I think it's kind of indicative of the times we're having right now, there's a lot of people having tough times, not a lot under the tree," he said.
For Evangelina Sanchez and her family, this made all the difference.
"Up until like three days ago, we didn't think we'd have a Christmas," Sanchez said. "It makes the kids happy and it just really helps liven spirits during dark times."
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Her mom Evelyn says the family had fallen on tough times over the past few years.
"Especially being from Livermore, being here, being homeless ourselves and being housed after six years, there's so many people that look at them like they're trash or whatever it is, so this restores everyone, gives them a little hope, a little light," Evelyn Falcon, a Livermore resident said.
The giveaway was for both kids and adults.
"That was very kind and loving to know because we as parents, we think about kids, kids come first and the fact that they said adults as well, I was like oh yeah you feel like a kid again," Nikia Parker, a Pleasanton resident said.
Parker is a single parent of three, but with inflation combined with life's unexpected curveballs, this was something that still made Christmas possible.
"A blessing, a blessing in disguise," Parker said. "I say it's just beautiful that people still care and that's what we all need, someone to be able to reach out and help, and it's ok to reach out to get help."
With a little something for everyone, there weren't just toys but also hygiene kits, socks, gloves and snacks.
"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have food on these kinds of days, I mean they just gave me this pumpkin pie," Lance Wooldridge, a Livermore resident said.
It is a tradition Schell hopes to continue to grow for years to come.
"Honestly, I couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas day just to see the look on people's faces," he said.
Schell also hosts an annual Thanksgiving dinner giveaway, setting a new record in November, serving a total of 350 families in need.
