This amazing owner of a Tex-Mex restaurant in Wisconsin used his own money to help other struggling restaurants during the pandemic.
The owner, one Adolfo Melendez from Stevens Point in Wisconsin, purchased more than $2000 in gift cards for various restaurants from his own community and then raffled them off to his social media followers.
We Need to Help Each Other in Crisis
He did this because he believes if we help one person and that person helps another, we can help a lot.
Since of December 2020, more than 110,000 restaurants throughout the country had to close down for good or short-term because of the pandemic.
Melendez says that probably 35 percent of the restaurants that are struggling are in his community.
Melendez Comes Up with an Idea to Help His Colleagues
After one local realtor company helped him at the start of the pandemic, he decided to help out other restaurant owners and he did this in very a creative way.
Towards the year’s end, he started purchasing gift cards from different restaurants in his community and then raffled them to customers through the Facebook page of his restaurant.
The winners received a $20 gift to some local restaurant. These local restaurants were very grateful for Melendez’s generosity and are aware that in order to survive this crisis, they need to work together.
One restaurant owner, Pete Ananiadis from the Olympia Family Restaurant, said that it’s really a hard time for all restaurant owners. Melendez emphasized that it’s essential to eat locally and shop locally, especially now.
These places are what keeps the economy going, he added.
Small diners or pizza joints need all the support they can get and he’s happy to have been able to help.
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