‘Mattress Mack’ Is Inviting The Entire City Of Houston To Thanksgiving

When Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, a business called Gallery Furniture turned two of their locations into shelters for stranded residents. Now, the stores’ owner, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, is opening his store for a Thanksgiving dinner “for all people who were affected by Hurricane Harvey, and people who weren’t affected,” he said.

“We’re going to celebrate the things we have to be thankful for. We have had a lot of problems in this community over the past three months, but we also have a lot to be thankful for. To me, that’s what Thanksgiving is about, giving thanks,” McIngvale told ABC News.

McIngvale hopes that the Thanksgiving dinner, which is open to “anybody and everybody,” will be a chance for the community to come together and heal after losing so much to the storm.

“I think if we can get people together around a meal it’s a great way to build relationships, and that’s what we’re trying to do, build relationships and move forward as a community,” he said.

Watch McIngvale talk about his motivation behind his decision to use his business as a way to give back with “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan here:

McIngvale plans to pay for the entire dinner with his own money, local food vendors have offered to help cook, and other residents have offered to volunteer in any way they can to make the event a success.

The lunchtime meal on Thanksgiving Day will include turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and pies, according to the Gallery Furniture website.

Although McIngvale received praise and national attention for his efforts to help the city’s people recover from the storm, he remains humble.

“I think the heroes are the first responders, certainly not me,” he said. “The heroes are the ones who went and risked their lives. All I did was open a furniture store.”

McIngvale says he predicts the Thanksgiving feast will draw upwards of 2,500 to 3,000 guests.

Kudos to McIngvale for doing so much to help his city survive and rebuild after the hurricane!