LEWISTON — Eric Agren says it was time.

Serving dishes such as cranberry compote, buttered English peas and sous vide turkey piled high, Fuel is hosting 60 for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, invitation-only, free of charge.

“We’ll be four in March. We’ve just been fortunate; the community’s been really supportive,” Agren said Wednesday. “I’m not hungry, and they’re hungry.”

He said he wants the meal to go off like a meal for any paying customer. Fifteen volunteers will help wait, plate and serve, a combination of friends, family and staff.

Agren contacted St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center for help finding diners.

“He said, ‘I have this idea … can you help me do it?’” said Mary Ellingwood, manager of special events in the development office at the hospital.

She said she was happy to. She distributed 60 tickets to the heads of different programs with most going out to St. Mary’s food pantry.

Agren said he wanted to help people who didn’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving. Fuel head chef Justin Oliver spent most of Wednesday cooking 150 pounds of turkey breast for the three-course meal. Potatoes for the potato puree came from Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, greens from Pineland Farms and sausage from Mailhot Sausage in Lewiston.

The Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village donated 14 pies.

On Tuesday night, two customers overheard Agren and the Fuel bartender, who’s also donating his time, talking about the event. Both customers asked to have money added to their bill to donate toward the meal.

“It’s pretty amazing when you do something like this, what you see,” Agren said. “It’s just really cool.”

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