Wisconsin restaurant owner uses advertising budget to help his fellow small business owners

Adolfo Melendez is looking out for his fellow small business owners in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Using $2,000 he had set aside to buy ads for his restaurant, Melendez purchased gift cards from seven other dining establishments in town, to be raffled off online.

"If you help one person and that person will help another business, that will help a lot," Melendez told WSAW. As the owner of El Mezcal, Melendez knows how hard it is right now to run a restaurant. He said small businesses are the backbone of Stevens Point, and that's what prompted him to buy the gift cards.

Pete Ananiadis, who owns Olympia Family Restaurant in Stevens Point, said he appreciates Melendez and his community spirit. "In these COVID times it's very important to eat local, small mom and pop shops," he told WSAW. "He understands that, and for all of us right now it's a tough time."