COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A Coeur d'Alene man hosted his 75th Monday night dinner this week, and it's a dinner party that everyone is invited to.
For the last seven years, Adam Schluter has invited strangers to Monday night dinners at his home. Those dinners have grown to 200 people at times. And now, many of those strangers have become lifelong friends.
"I don't think that I've done anything special here other than create space," Schluter said.
He came up with Monday night dinners shortly after moving to the neighborhood from Mexico. He knew no one in the area. Instead of using social media, he decided to meet his neighbors the old-fashioned way.
"I just said hello to people," Schluter said. "And then I'd introduce myself and have a genuine conversation. At the end of it, if it was a genuine connected conversation, I'd invite them to have dinner at my house after."
That night, he cooked up some macaroni and cheese for 11 strangers.
"It was a mess!" he laughed. "We had water and crappy food. But everybody sat around the table and said how much they'd been needing the same thing."
That shared need for connection and genuine conversation sparked the idea for the Monday night dinners.
Mary attended that first dinner and she's continued to join in the last seven years.
"It's amazing how much it's grown," Mary said. "I've forged a few really close relationships and I've just enjoyed meeting all the different people that come here."
There aren't any rules--except bring a dish, and invite someone new.
For seven years, some 200 people have formed new relationships around these tables. Schluter said they've become a source of hope and happiness to many.
"For me to have people come up to me and say that this has saved their life, it's an honor," Schluter said.
He admits these gatherings have also pulled him out of a dark place.
"I was suicidal when I started the dinners," Schluter said. "I had no purpose. I felt all alone."
75 dinners later, Schluter isn't alone anymore. He's surrounded himself with a community connected by food--the key ingredient for friendship.
This week was the last Monday night dinner for the year. They typically run every other Monday night from May to October, depending on the weather.
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