The Lord's Diner exists to combat hunger in the community. The Diner's singular mission is to serve a nutritious meal with dignity and respect to anyone who is hungry.
Our History
Though The Lord’s Diner officially opened its doors in 2002, its story began years earlier with Bishop Eugene Gerber, then bishop of the Diocese of Wichita. In the 1980s and ’90s, he regularly invited the homeless into his home—sometimes as many as 60 at a time—cooking for them himself or picking up fast food so they’d have a warm meal. Through those shared meals, Bishop Gerber formed friendships with many of Wichita’s homeless and learned from their experiences.
Recognizing that evening and weekend meals were often unavailable to those in need, he envisioned a place that would serve dinner every night of the year—where all would be welcomed with love, compassion, and respect. With help from community members, churches, and local tradespeople, that dream became reality. The Lord’s Diner, at 520 N. Broadway, opened on February 13, 2002. About 100 guests enjoyed tuna casserole that first night; by the next evening, the number had doubled. Bishop Gerber called it “an act of love.”
From those humble beginnings, The Lord’s Diner steadily grew. A second location opened in 2011 on South Hillside, followed by the launch of food trucks to reach underserved neighborhoods—Evergreen (2013), Hilltop (2014), and Atwater (2016).
In 2017, the mission expanded to Pittsburg, Kansas—one of the state’s poorest counties—where a new location opened to serve the community with the same spirit of dignity and care. Today, The Lord’s Diner of Pittsburg also utilizes a food truck to serve several sites throughout the city.
At the end of 2020, The Lord’s Diner launched its Homeless Outreach program, offering lunch and coffee each weekday morning. Two years later, it added the Backpack Program, which provides weekend meals to about 400 school children in and around Wichita throughout the school year.
In 2024, after much collaboration with the Derby Recreation Center, The Lord’s Diner began providing food for the Oaklawn neighborhood to help address food insecurity in the area.
Most recently, The Lord’s Diner is working in collaboration with many local businesses and nonprofits to make Wichita’s multi-agency center for the unhoused, Second Light, a reality by offering dinner seven days a week and lunch five days a week.
Today, The Lord’s Diner serves on average 1,800 meals each evening—more than 8 million since its opening. Guided by Bishop Gerber’s vision and sustained by community generosity, The Lord’s Diner continues to grow, adapt, and serve as a true work of love.