Santa might be known best for enjoying milk and cookies, but on Sunday morning at the Epicurean restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake, it was all about the bacon and eggs — and supporting palliative care services in the community.

In the spirit of the holiday season, restaurant owner Gina Angelakopoulos decided to host a Christmas breakfast to raise money for NOTL Palliative Care, complete with Santa on scene to hang out with kids from one to 92.

“A portion of our proceeds will be going to Palliative Care here in NOTL,” said Angelakopoulos during the event. “Which I think is a fantastic cause, especially in the Christmas season.”

The event was a first time for the Epicurean, drawing a small crowd, though Angelakopoulos said she hopes to make it a yearly event moving forward.

“It was a start for us, just to kind of introduce the relationship with Palliative Care,” she said.

Patricia Whitwell, chair of NOTL Palliative Care, said events like Sunday's “mean everything” to the not-for-profit organization.

“Niagara-on-the-Lake is a small community, but they have been very generous,” she said. “We didn’t seek this out, they just came to us, and that was fantastic. We were thrilled about it.”

When community members take on the initiative to help raise money, it allows volunteers to spend more time actually offering palliative care to those who need it, she said.

“I mean we do get funding from the Ministry, but it’s not enough. Any extra we can do, then we don’t have to focus as much on fundraising.”

For Angelakopoulos, it’s a way of connecting and giving back to the community.

“And it’s a way to get Santa into the restaurant,” she added.