Brighten Your Day

Anonymous Donor Gives Florida Cafe $40,000 To Stay Open

June 6, 2020

A restaurant in Naples, Florida, was saved from shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic thanks to one very caring customer.

Bill's Cafe owner Bill Salley said the restaurant received about $40,000 from a customer, who wished to remain anonymous, and it helped the cafe carry through the months that it was forced to close its dining room during Florida's stay-at-home order.

"The last day I was open before they forced us to close because of the COVID situation he goes 'Bill I'd like to talk to you'," Salley told WINK News.

"He says listen I have two envelopes for you..one for you, one for your help..and It was so nice and kind of him…. but that probably wouldn't have saved me…it was a nice chunk of money in that but not enough to make a difference," he said.

"A week later he calls me up and tells me, 'Bill, would you be interested in sending a hundred sandwiches a day across the street to Naples community hospital' and before he even finished, I said 'I'm in!'"

The customer paid full price for the sandwiches, five days a week for eight straight weeks, so that the hospital employees would get them for free.

"It literally saved my cafe," Salley said. "It was so nice and kind of him."