PITTSFIELD — Luke Marion says he doesn't cook for money — he cooks because of his love for the craft and the impact it has on others.

“There’s a lot of hungry people out there,” said Marion, co-owner of Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort. “I genuinely like the look on people’s faces when they have delicious food.”

On Thursday night, Marion saw firsthand the impact a hot meal can have, serving hearty beef stew and homemade mashed potatoes at a three-hour community dinner at his East Street restaurant. The evening was a pay-what-you-can event, meaning there was no obligation or judgment to pay.

Bowls of beef stew and potatoes are served up during a "pay-what-you-can" community supper at Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort in Pittsfield on Thursday. “This is just kind of aligned with our beliefs that everybody’s due food, whether they can afford it or not, because nobody should have to afford food,” co-owner Luke Marion said.

“This is just kind of aligned with our beliefs that everybody’s due food, whether they can afford it or not, because nobody should have to afford food,” Marion said.

Luke also credits his wife and co-owner Lindsey Marion for the community dinner idea and said that she’s the brains behind the restaurant, which they purchased in 2015. The restaurant started by hosting a pay-what-you-can pancake Christmas about five years ago, he said, adding that they later expanded to include Thanksgiving meals and community dinners.

For the meal on Thursday, Luke said that one of his friends pitched the idea for beef stew. He said that with a community dinner, it's important to make something approachable to a broad audience and to “keep it simple.” While some patrons offered donations on Thursday evening, others were told "put their money away" and simply eat. The restaurant, essentially, foot the bill.

Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort hosts a "pay-what-you-can" community supper, serving beef stew and potatoes to anyone who might want it at the restaurant in Pittsfield on Thursday. “We live here, and we want people to not only support us, but we want to support everybody else,” co-owner Luke Marion said.

It was hard to estimate how many guests he was expecting on Thursday, but he said it could range from 50 to 75. Thanksgiving is their highest volume, he said, serving more than 200 plates of food.

Michelle Mancivalano, who’s worked at the restaurant for six years, said that given the current times, it’s “important to help each other as much as we possibly can.” Mancivalano and Lindsey made it a point to greet each customer when they entered and send them out the door with a smile on their face.

“We want them to have their dignity and feel like they’re welcome here, and it’s not like a hassle,” Mancivalano said. “It’s why we use real bowls instead of plastic or [paper plates] because we want them to feel like they’re human beings and treated like human beings.”

Volunteer Sarah DeZess stirs a big pot of beef stew in the kitchen during a community supper at Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort in Pittsfield on Thursday. Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort is a small restaurant featuring American cuisine on East Street in Pittsfield.

The restaurant tries to do one community dinner a month, but sometimes they are unable to hit that mark, Luke said. Throughout the process, they’ve adjusted the start time of the dinners to help those in shelters who need to get back in before dusk and held them at the end of the month to help people whose benefits are running out.

The community dinner was the first one of 2026 and the first since their pancake meal for Christmas in December. Mancivalano said that is her favorite of the community meals because she likes seeing people happy to have somewhere to go on Christmas morning.

Luke said he is unsure what they will do next month, but he is thinking of doing an online poll to gather interest.

With over 45 years of combined experience in the restaurant industry, the Marions strive to make Otto’s a beloved part of Pittsfield.

“We live here, and we want people to not only support us, but we want to support everybody else,” Luke said. “There is no greater sticking power in any town than investing yourself in that town.”