Greater Bay Shore coverage is funded in part by Shoregate, now leasing brand-new premium apartment homes in the heart of Bay Shore. Click here to schedule a tour.
Penny Pub bartender Jill Schombs adores her regulars.
She couldn’t bear the thought of any of them spending Thanksgiving alone
“I have one regular who has Stage 3 cancer and he was going to be sitting home,” said Schombs, who lives in Bay Shore and has worked at The Penny for 2 and 1/2 years.
“And I just couldn’t bring myself to picture him alone.”
advertisement
So, she’s told her family to wait for her a bit on Thanksgiving night.
Because for the first time ever, The Penny Pub will be opening on the holiday for a cozy Thanksgiving meal on Main Street among friends and neighbors. And Schombs will be doing the cooking.
“It actually kind of snowballed” since she first mentioned opening, she said. “I was talking to the group and they’re so nice; it’s an older set of people. And one offered a turkey he gets from his company, and then the next was like, ‘I’ll make green bean casserole.’ It’s just been really great.”
Penny Pub co-owner Mike McElwee said he wasn’t surprised Schombs stepped up to help people feel less lonely on Thanksgiving.
“Jill is awesome and is always looking out for our Penny family,” McElwee said. “We usually have to find people to work the holidays. This year, she asked us if we could be open on Thanksgiving Day.”
The Penny Pub would not have opened until 8 p.m. Thanksgiving will get started around 3 p.m. to what’s expected to be over a dozen people, at least.
“My family eats later anyway,” Schombs said.
