Wichita’s most popular church dinner returns after 2-year hiatus — but with a big change
It’s been three years since Wichita has been able to partake of the cabbage rolls, kibba and baklawa served at the St. George Lebanese Dinner & Food Sale, a popular annual tradition in Wichita that was started 100 years ago and that draws big crowds every October.
Church leaders, fresh off a big cathedral remodel, decided to skip 2019, promising to bring the dinner back in 2020. But 2020 had other plans, and the dinner had to be skipped again last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But COVID numbers started to improve earlier this year, and the organizers of the big dinner — which usually feeds about 5,600 people a year — decided they were ready to bring it back. They announced their plans to the public and began to cook and freeze the dinner’s various components.
And then things changed again. The Delta variant caused community COVID numbers to spike , and as local hospitalizations rose, dinner organizers met to decide how they should move forward. Last week, they decided that for the first time in the dinner’s history, it would be offered in a to-go format only, and this year, drive-through pickup will be the only option.
“But we are going to make this the most hospitable drive-throughs Wichita has ever seen,” said Jennifer Sebits, one of the event’s co-chairs.
The dinner is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 9 and noon to 7 p.m. Oct. 10.
In a normal year, people who attend the dinner can choose between dining inside the church and being served by its members or getting their food packed up to go in a drive-through lane in the parking lot of the church, 7515 E. 13th St.
Because drive-through will be the only option this year, the committee has made elaborate plans for how to keep it moving smoothly since they still hope to sell around 5,600 meals, which are $20 apiece for adults, $15 for children 10 and under and include salad, pita bread, cabbage rolls, kibba, ruz and yuknee — which is a Lebanese green bean, rice and tomato stew — and baklawa.
They closely studied the drive-through set up at Chick-fil-A, which is famous for getting customers through the line quickly, and they plan to replicate it, Sebits said. Their setup will include three lanes of traffic, and church members holding iPads will direct people to the correct lanes.
Because diners won’t be entering the church, they won’t be able to shop as they usually do at the dinner’s “Country Kitchen,” which offers extra portions of things like kibba, grape leaves and baklawa. But people will still be able to pick those things up in one of the drive-through lanes, Sebits said.
Regular attendees of the dinner like to order lots of extras to stock their freezers through the winter, Sebits said.
“And what better time to fill your freezer than in the middle of a pandemic?” she said.
People who want only the extra food and not the packaged dinner can pick it up early, on Oct. 2 and 3. They can pre-order food at stgeorgebigdinner.square.site, and that’s where they also can pre-order tickets for the packaged dinners. Dinner tickets also will be available on site the day of the event, or they can be picked up at the church.
Though the new format will present a bit of a challenge, said the dinner’s co-chairs, the congregation didn’t want to skip another year. The dinner not only helps them raise money for local charities but it also serves as a bonding experience for churchgoers, many of whom are from families whose members have participated since the first dinner was put on in 1921.
Church members started planning the dinner in April and began cooking in July.
“The whole process of the dinner happens to be so exciting,” said Phyllis Abraham, another of the dinner’s co-chairs. “This year, the dining room and kitchen people have been so excited about coming and working — especially our new people who may not have seen this happen before.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 2:04 PM.
.jpg)