There is no excuse to spend Thanksgiving alone in Sedona this year; Coffee Pot Restaurant will make sure of that.

The West Sedona restaurant is hosting its ninth annual Thanksgiving dinner free of charge on Wednesday, Nov. 22, from 4 to 7 p.m.

Damien Daher, son of owner Emile Daher, said he’s been involved with the dinner on and off for the last several years. He said he hopes to get more than 450 people to come to the dinner.

“We got more and more donations this year,” Daher said. “We take all the money and leftovers and donate them to the local food bank.”

For Daher and his family, volunteers are also something that surprisingly come in excess to the Coffee Pot every year.

“We can’t always accommodate everyone who wants to volunteer,” he said. “We already have volunteers from the fire department and police, and a lot of employee family members, so we usually have more than enough staff.”

Daher said when the dinner first started almost 10 years ago, it was originally meant for the needy but over time, the event has evolved to include everyone in the community.

“It was a natural evolution,” Daher said. “It’s for whoever wants to come; a community gathering. We get a lot of newcomers looking to make friends.”

Daher said what he likes about the dinner is seeing people from all walks of life, ages and background coming together once a year to share a meal.

“We’ve had a number of people come in who say right when they came to town,” he said. “They first went to the event and then later became involved in different social gatherings events as a result of meeting people at the dinner. It offers the town feeling a little less isolated it gives everyone a sense of community.”

Kelcie Grega can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 126, or email kgrega@larsonnewspapers.com