“When this is all over, remember this company and how they treated people.” It’s been said a bajillion times over the past month or so.
In the travel world, you’ve got the airlines that would only give vouchers until the DOT said they had to give refunds (and who are now fighting it). The online travel agents who are dragging their feet to give people their money back. The crappy way this restaurant fired its employees.
But then there are also heartwarming stories. The cruise ship that did everything right for its passengers in a sea of wrong. The theme parks that eventually had to furlough their workers but who paid them a month’s salary while they stayed home. And now this place…
The Sand Bar has been a staple on Georgia’s Tybee Island for almost 15 years. It calls itself “the smallest bar on the island, with the biggest heart” and the owner just proved it.
The Sand Bar’s “decor” was similar to that of a lot of other small, privately-owned bars. For over a decade, they had allowed patrons to “make their mark” by writing on dollar bills and stapling them to the walls and, when they ran out of room, the ceiling.
Example of “bar wallpaper” // PC: Wikimedia
When the state of George mandated stay-at-home orders, The Sand Bar, like so many other places, closed up shop. That left owner Jennifer Knox’s staff without jobs.
From CNN:
“We were sitting there doors locked and I’m like oh my gosh, ‘there’s money on the walls and we have time on our hands,” she told CNN, referring to the bar’s decor. “‘We gotta get this money down.'”
The plan was to give the money to her unemployed employees. So for three and a half days, five volunteers removed all of the dollar bills from the walls and ceiling. They had to be careful so the bills wouldn’t rip. And some had dozens of staples in them. But they got them all down and when they were done, they had $3,714.
Here’s a video of all the bills, lined up on the bar:
Over a span of three days, a Tybee Island bar removed $3,714 worth of bills stapled to their walls to give to their unemployed staff. 📸Jennifer Knox of The Sand Bar pic.twitter.com/Aiz2NBCPxy
— Amanda Jackson (@AmandaJ_TX) April 8, 2020
When people heard about what Knox was doing, customers from The Sand Bar made some donations to add to the pile. At the end of it all, she had $4,104 to give to her staff.
Four bartenders and two musicians were each given a share of the funds and to continue the good karma, one of the bartenders donated her portion to another Tybee Island bartender.
Jennifer Knox is hopeful that she’ll be able to reopen The Sand Bar when the all-clear has been given. Assuming it does, maybe consider visiting if you’re out that way. I think they deserve it. “When this is all over, remember this company and how they treated people.”
*** Many thanks to Norman J. for the heads up about this topic!
#stayhealthy #stayathome #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
