Winter Storm Elliott, a COVID pandemic, and some burnt turkey were some of the hurdles thrown in the way for Rick Mancuso and his crew to continue with their free Christmas dinners for the last 30-plus years. 

But those things never dampened the spirits of Mancuso, fellow organizer Joseph Teresi Jr. and their family members to prepare and serve up some turkey, mashed potatoes and fixings to hundreds of community members year after year, Mancuso said. And actually, the pandemic forced them to streamline the operation, which ended up serving even more people. 

The Lions Club and T.F. Brown's are getting everything ready once again to host their annual community Christmas Dinner.

The Christmas dinner is free to members of the community who wish to attend, but reservations are required.

Children who attend will receive presents from Santa.

If you would like to donate toys for the children, T.F.'s is hosting a happy hour Thursday evening. Bring in a toy and the first cup of cheer is on the house. Be sure to wear an ugly sweater and you could win a prize.

Seatings for dinners -- noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., Christmas Day.

To make reservations, call (585) 345-1000. You'll be asked to provide the number in your party, the seating you wish to attend, and the names, ages and gender of the children attending.

Pictured: Dan Milliman, Jeff Pangrazio, Rick Mancuso, John Murray, Joe Teresi and David Johnson.

T.F. Brown's and the Mancuso Family added another year to its long tradition of serving a Traditional Christmas Day Dinner to the Genesee County region. This year 320 meals were served on a cold, snowy Christmas Day.

The day started early as Rick Mancuso and his early morning crew arrived at the Restaurant just after Santa touched down at their house to prepare the restaurant for the dinner guests and ensure the dinner would be ready on time. The Batavia Lions Club assisted with serving the meal as well as providing toys to all of the children in attendance. This year the Community had an opportunity to assist in the dinner when T.F. Brown's hosted a holiday Happy Hour where customers dropped off toys for the event. The event was well attended with both the United Way of Genesee County and the Batavia Rotary making it their December meeting. A special gift for the holiday diners, was a poinsettia courtesy of Larry Delre and Delre’s Greenhouse.

In addition to the Christmas Day crew, special thanks go out to T.F. Brown’s staff including chefs Frank Yanik and Jeff Pangrazio. Also Maud Charpin in the office who handled reservations. The dinner would not be possible without the support of T.F. Brown's vendors who assisted with the Dinner, including the breadman, Jeff Condidorio. Also, thanks to all the social service providers who assisted us in getting the message out to the community.

While Christmas maybe over, the Mancuso Family looks forward to carrying on the this tradition in 2014.