Minneapolis Christmas tradition feeds, cheers homeless group

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Holiday cheer is usually in short supply for people who have nowhere to call home, but an empowering Minneapolis Christmas tradition is putting smiles on faces and making sure their bellies are full.

Home is where the heart is, but winter can be heartless for the homeless population. This holiday season, about 8,400 people are unhoused in Minnesota — 3,300 in Hennepin County alone.

About 60 of them wake up at the temporary Simpson House shelter each morning, including Christmas. But on this holiday, they started their day with a little sizzle.

"We're closed to the public and only feeding folks in Simpson shelter on Christmas morning," said Our Kitchen and Simpson House volunteer Brian Bozeman.

The tiny East Harriet diner Our Kitchen has become a gift that has kept on giving for the last 11 Christmases.

"He asked me, he's like, ‘What do the guests do for breakfast?’" Bozeman said of the diner's owner Danny Ziegler. "And I said, 'Well, we usually have cereal.' And he said, 'Bring them here.' And so since then, we've been doing it every Christmas."

Danny Ziegler and his wife Oksana get behind the counter, working as hard as they do on the other 364 days of the year, serving up breakfast to order.

"I ordered the omelet with onions and peppers with hash browns," said Simpson House guest Peter Roers.

The Zieglers get to play Santa, offering up a smorgasbord of tasty gifts. Volunteers deliver folks to the diner in a sleigh resembling a minivan. And shelter guests get to pull up a stool at the diner and spend Christmas morning sharing a warm meal with their neighbors, the exact gift they requested.

"It feels good," Roers said. "You know, just pick your own. Don't have to worry about paying for nothing, you know? It feels great."

And for this group, for one morning at least, the holidays really are the most wonderful time of the year.