Customer keeps Florida cafe afloat by ordering 100 sandwiches a day for hospital workers


On the last day Bill's Cafe in Naples, Florida, was open before having to close down due to the coronavirus pandemic, one of the restaurant's regulars handed owner Bill Salley two envelopes.
Each one contained money, with some earmarked for Salley and the rest for his employees. "It was so nice and kind of him," Salley told WINK News, but it wasn't enough to help his restaurant survive. A week later, the customer called him with a question. "He tells me, 'Bill, would you be interested in sending 100 sandwiches a day across the street to Naples Community Hospital?'" Salley said. "Before he even finished, I said, 'I'm in.'"
The customer, who asked to remain anonymous, gave Salley about $40,000 during the time he was closed. This not only benefited Salley and his employees, but also the hospital workers, who enjoyed their free sandwiches. The customer's generosity eased what could have been a stressful situation, server Andrea Gianello said, telling WINK News "it felt good that someone genuinely cared about the community to come out and help" not only Bill's Cafe, but also the doctors and nurses.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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