Brooklyn pizzeria serves the needy for Thanksgiving

NEW YORK - Who needs turkey when you can have a bubbling cheese pizza, hot out of the oven? Andy Holt is serving up the Romana-style pies at his Gowanus spot Mamma Roma today, and opening his door for anyone that needs a place to go.

"A lot of people choose to stay home, they don't know what to do, you didn't get invited to a Friendsgiving, but more importantly if you didn't have a place to go, you don't have a house to go to whether you're outside or you're in a shelter," Holt said.

He got the idea when his own holiday plans changed last minute.

"I was like, you know let me just go to the restaurant and pop the door open, people want to come in for a bite," Holt said.

He put up a post on Instagram and then one on Twitter last night, inviting anyone who can't afford a meal or just has nowhere else to spend the holiday, to come to his wood burning pizza spot at 524 4th avenue. By this morning the posts had been shared thousands of times.

Holt went a step further, asking his local councilman and others in the community to help spread the word.

"It's chilly out, times are tough for some people, we fortunately have a place you can come into, it's warm," he said. "Making pizza and handing it out is the least we can do, and I think if a lot of other people did a similar thing, it would go a long way."

The restaurant will be open to the community until 10pm on Thanksgiving. Holt hopes to continue the tradition of welcoming all who are in need for many holidays to come.