Room for all at the Inn for Christmas

Quinns Post tavern owner Murray McMahon will be the Santa in the kitchen at Upper Hutt's Room at the Inn charity Christmas Day lunch.

A free meal for Upper Hutt's lonely and less fortunate will be the order of Christmas Day at the Room at the Inn, the Rimutaka Lions' charity lunch.

Quinns Post Tavern owner Murray McMahon will provide both the venue and his culinary kitchen skills for free to deliver a traditional festive meal to an expected 150 diners.

Another 40 plus meals will also be delivered to people in their homes on the day , event organiser Gay Geursen said.

Rimutaka Lions' Udaya Bhaskar, Quinns Post Tavern owner Murray McMahon and Bayleys Real Estate's Tania Ledger are key players in Upper Hutt's Room at the Inn charity.
The Room at the Inn Christmas meal was started by the Red Cross and has been an Upper Hutt community tradition for many years.
It was held at the Hapai Club community hall until 2013 and this will be the fourth years at a venue managed by McMahon.

Geursen said having the event in a working restaurant made the organisation easier, especially with avoiding the need to transport the prepared food and crockery to the venue on the morning.

Community support has aways been strong "but we always still need to get the message out that it is happening and that it is something which is available to anyone.

"People just have to turn up and come on in.

"Mostly they will be people living alone, older people. We'd rather they were here on the day and happy than somewhere else.

"It's not always about their being poor it's about having company.

"Over the years we have been touched by the thanks we have received from those we serve," Geursen said.
The generosity of McMahon and the major financial sponsorship by Team Ledger Bayley's Real Estate was crucial.

She also had support from other businesses including New World Silverstream and The Warehouse.

Mcmahon is enthusiastic about the task ahead and said with the Quinns Post Tavern serving more than 150 meals a day he and his volunteer staff were looking forward to the lunch challenge.

"When the Hapai Club closed there was a bit of concern it might have to be wound up and so since then we've used the Main St Restaurant and here."

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