Saying that the global pandemic of 2020 has affected all parts of life is an understatement—COVID-19 has not only touched every business and household in the world,it has also destroyed most of them. But thankfully, Bill’s Café in Naples, Florida, was saved from the disaster, and it not only survived the lockdown period, it more or less thrived during it.
Rido/Shutterstock: Businesses shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown
The owner, Bill Salley, lost all hope when the government announced a two-month quarantine. He knew that unlike the big restaurants and other food chain businesses, his small mom-and-pop shop would not survive the long closure, but he had no idea how to handle the situation.
Serving grilled breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, Salley was saddened by the thought that he won’t be able to use his grill for two months.
While contemplating how he’ll manage everything, the owner got called aside by a regular customer who gave him two envelopes—one having a $1000 for the employees’ salary and another with the same amount for the rent.
LuckyLife11/Pixabay: Bill’s Café makes delicious sandwiches
The random gesture confused Salley, who was even more shocked when the same person handed him $42,000 to buy supplies and make 100 sandwiches on weekdays for hospital workers. And just like that, Bill’s Café was back in business, without actually going out of business—all thanks to the man who only revealed his good deed on the condition that his name won’t be publicized.
Salley initially received two checks of $10,000 and was supposed to make breakfast only for the month of April 2020, but the impact of this service was so huge that the café and the philanthropic man continued their work for the next month as well.
Picture Courtesy: Andrew Angelov: Delivering sandwiches to medical workers at NCH
The place had all kinds of sandwich options from egg and bacon to ham and cheese for the workers at NCH—yes, Salley was specifically making breakfast for the medical workers there. He also had garlic herb wraps for a healthier option, so no one would go hungry while putting their lives on the line.
The café owner didn’t only get to work every day for this free meal plan, but also received numerous thank you notes from the “customers” who thanked him for his service.
And once the tough times were over, the place was opened for the general public in June 2020, and none of the customers knew that the regular person who helped so many people survive the pandemic was sitting among them, and as usual, staying away from the limelight.