Family-run Northfield restaurant serves free Christmas dinner: 'This is about fellowship'

Every December, Joan Spaulding's holiday wish is the same: to feed the bodies and souls of friends, neighbors and strangers who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day.

"This is about fellowship and love and Christmas," said Spaulding, co-owner with her husband, Jim, of the HideAway Coffeehouse and Winebar in Northfield.

With that in mind, the Spauldings and their six children are primed to spend their 10th consecutive Dec. 25 preparing and serving a free Christmas dinner to all comers. In fact, they essentially give back twofold.

"We put out a tip jar because many people want to give something," said Spaulding. "But this is not a money-maker for anybody here; we donate all the tips to the local Community Action Center, and last year we gave $1,500."

In 2020, rather than canceling the meal because of the pandemic, the Spauldings shifted gears to drive-up service and offered meals to go, serving 450 people.

"We had a line literally around the block and ran food to cars all afternoon," said Spaulding, explaining that they dish up the goods from 1 to 5 p.m. each year.

Spaulding's ardent message is that the meal they offer — including turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, bread, vegetables and Christmas cookies — isn't only for the needy but for anyone who might be alone or feeling lonely at Christmas.

"I'd say about 40% of the people who come now have been here before, but for about 60% it's their first visit," she said.

"People have so many different reasons," she said.

"We've had people who just checked out of the hospital on Christmas Day and had no food at home, travelers passing through town or staying at a local hotel, international students from Carleton or St. Olaf colleges and older adults who celebrated with their adult kids on Christmas Eve but have no one around on Christmas Day."

The Spauldings greet guests with sincere smiles and an overflowing dose of holiday cheer that rivals Mr. Fezziwig's famed "A Christmas Carol" jollity. After all, the HideAway stood in for the Bun Also Rises, a recurring location featured in the 2016 Hallmark movie "Love Always, Santa" filmed in Northfield.

To get into the spirit, the Spauldings decorate their cafe to the hilt, don colorful Christmas sweaters and Santa hats, blast classic Christmas songs (think Bing Crosby's "White Christmas") and position friendly greeters at the door to welcome each diner with a name tag and hearty "Merry Christmas!" before asking their meat and beverage preferences and leading them to a table.

"From the moment you walk in there, it's a warm, happy Christmas environment that just permeates the room," said Northfield resident Kathy Holter, who has volunteered along with her husband, Jeff, at the HideAway's Christmas dinners.

"It's all Christmas sweaters, smiles, music, crazy aprons and reindeer antler headbands. It's a gift to help others who are alone that day feel the spirit."

Aided in their Christmas meal mission by their six children, a few of their children's spouses/significant others and a handful of volunteers such as the Holters, the Spauldings — who will celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary two days after hosting close to 500 guests — began dedicating their Christmas to giving back in 2013.

David Spaulding, 23, was a middle schooler when his parents — grateful their restaurant was finally turning a profit — suggested the project to their brood, whose age range is now 21 to 32.

"With a big family it's easy to set up a majority vote, but what I liked about the first year was that Mom was very intentional about pulling us all together in the living room and laying it out for us," David said.

"She basically said, 'I have an idea; what do you think of it? It would mean giving up your Christmas.' Doing that from the get-go gave each of us a sense of ownership because we made a conscious decision to participate.

"Now we're all excited to be there every year, and we look forward to it."

The joy and humor the Spauldings savor as a large, close-knit family is something they love sharing on Christmas. They encourage guests to hang out in the HideAway after eating to chat with others or play Uno or a board game.

"College students and people who don't have a family tell us how they had nothing to look forward to for the day and that they expected to just come in, grab a meal and go, but when they arrive and see the environment and feel welcomed, they stay," David said.

"It's very rewarding and gratifying to see and hear their reactions."

The Spauldings pull it off with detailed advance planning and several hours of labor, busily working like Santa's elves from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve — after which they have their private family Christmas celebration. Another four hours is required pre-dinner on Christmas Day.

"We do much of the prep over the course of a couple days beforehand, and I order all the food and supplies the week before," said Spaulding.

Notably, they peel, cook and roast in their cafe's tiny but efficient 15-by-12-foot kitchen, which is a frequent source of wonder to customers and staff alike.

"Once we were standing in the middle of the kitchen with a new employee who asked, 'So where's your kitchen?'" said Spaulding. "I told her, 'This is it.'"

Another local business, Brick Oven Bakery, donates bread, and past dinner attendees, friends, neighboring business owners and random community members contribute to the array of Christmas cookies that serve as the crowning sweet.

Among the cookie donors is Carole Christensen. The owner of Antiques of Northfield, which is directly across from the HideAway, she delivers cornflake wreath cookies topped with cinnamon candies.

Christensen has adopted the Spauldings' Christmas dinner as her own.

"We have family we could go to, but we actually prefer to come here; some family is better than others," quipped Christensen.

"It's become our tradition," she continued. "People we know are here, and it's a good meal — not gourmet, but with all the holiday fixin's.

"And it's probably even way more fun for the Spauldings because they have their whole group working together."

The turnout can be unpredictable, but the HideAway always has managed to stretch the food to feed everyone who shows up.

"I swear, it does feel like the loaves and fishes, but somehow there is always enough," said Spaulding.

Jim Spaulding said it's all made possible by teamwork and an attitude of thankfulness for the community support their business receives.

Added his wife, "At the end of the afternoon we're exhausted, but it's a very joy-filled day.

"Working together and serving others is just fun."