Santa greets kids at local diner’s holiday buffet

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — It was a special Christmas Eve morning as many enjoyed a good breakfast buffet at a local diner.

“We have had some that’s not been able to see Santa, and just to come in and not expecting Santa to be here, they tell Santa what they want for Christmas, and it’s worth every bit of it,” said Mrs. Claus.

Each year, the anticipation for Santa Claus’ arrival is high, and Rhodes Family Diner in Medina is making sure their customers get a taste of a delicious buffet breakfast on Christmas Eve, with the most popular foods like bacon, eggs, homemade chocolate gravy and more.

And of course — the chance to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Owner Sam Rhodes says this is an event the customers have wanted to take part in since Thanksgiving.

“I put it out on Facebook and said, ‘What do y’all think?’ and everyone was very positive, wanted to do it, so instead of doing a regular buffet, we did like a cafeteria-style buffet to keep everyone safer,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes also says the people who come to eat at the diner are like family, and with the unfortunate circumstances due to COVID-19, he wanted the diner to feel like home.

“Well we wanted to provide a little bit of normalcy because this has been a tough year for everybody,” said Rhodes.

After eating, the kids told Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Some even gave him a list.

“Everyone be good, go to bed early, and Santa will come see you tonight with all of your presents,” Santa told the children.

Employees at the diner made sure to take all the necessary COVID-19 precautions.