It will be Christmas July 25th at the volunteer-run Miller’s Oven restaurant in Manotick

By Louise Rachlis

For the fourth year, there will be a “Christmas in July” celebration at The Miller’s Oven restaurant in Manotick.

This year Christmas in July will be held Wednesday July 25.

The non-profit  restaurant is operated by the Miller’s Oven Seniors Committee. Staffed by volunteers since 1983, the restaurant was created for seniors, by seniors, and in December will celebrate their 35th anniversary. “We are a family-friendly destination for all ages,” said volunteer manager Anne Mask. “We have a lot of families coming to the Oven, especially on weekends.”

For Christmas in July, there’s a full turkey dinner, stuffing, cranberries, “the works,” said Mask, “including cranberry-apple cream cheese pie, our Mile High Lemon Pie - always a big seller - and likely a pumpkin pie as well.”

The heritage building will sport Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree.

The Christmas meal will be served during their usual lunch hours, 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. or until they run out of turkey.

Another special treat is their occasional high teas for which they sell 46 tickets each time. The next high tea will June 14th, and you can purchase tickets at the Miller’s Oven.

The volunteer board under chair Colin Crosbie meets once a month, and three times a year the senior volunteers enjoy a social get-together. “It keeps everybody informed.”

Each day there is a volunteer manager and a varied number of volunteer servers. “We can always use more volunteers,” Mask said, “because they come and go. We don’t care if they can give us three or four hours; people are volunteering their time and we take them when they can come in. We can always use student volunteers as well. Students must be 12, and high school students can obtain their volunteer hours at the Oven. We do hire students to work in our kitchen on the weekends.”

Anne Mask herself formerly taught in the accounting department at Algonquin College, and her only cooking experience was cooking for family, but she’s still a longtime regular volunteer at the Miller’s Oven. “My dad was one of the originals volunteering at Miller’s Oven,” she said, “also my mother, my aunt, my uncle and one of my daughters volunteered. My family grew up in Miller’s Oven.”

Last year, to give back to the community, the Miller’s Oven made a monetary donation to the Manotick Food Bank, and also to Lazarus House community outreach which supports the rural poor, offering food, clothing and household goods to those in need.

“We partnered with ROSSS (Rural Ottawa South Support Services) this past April to provide Meals on Wheels,” said Mask. “It was a bit of an adjustment for our cook; we wouldn’t exist without our fabulous cook, Kerry Crosby (no relation to Colin and spelled differently). She makes everything. We can always use volunteer cooks during the week to cook with Kerry.”

The Miller’s Oven is located at 1137 Mill Street in Manotick, and now has a patio on the side. It’s wheelchair accessible with a ramp. 

They are open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. While they stop meal service at 2:30 p.m, desserts and beverages are available the last half hour. They take reservations by calling 613-692-4304, which is especially appreciated for larger groups. You can find them on Facebook.