Credit: Bill’s Cafe Naples

Bill’s Cafe will reopen, and spread some good will of their own.

In Naples, Florida, there’s a small restaurant named Bill’s Cafe, owned by the eponymous Bill Salley. Due to the stay-at-home order issued as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill’s Cafe was forced to close its doors, putting the livelihood of Salley and his employees at risk. However, thanks to the generosity of one anonymous man, not only will Bill’s Cafe remain open for business, but he could also pay that good will forward to a worthy cause.

On the last day Salley was able to keep his restaurant open before its forced closure, one of the establishments breakfast-time regulars approached Salley, saying he needed to talk to him.

“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,” Salley told WINK News.

Later in the week, the regular called again with an additional proposal. “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!”

Credit: WINK News

Over the course of the pandemic closure, the regular paid Salley a total of $40,000 to make and send sandwiches over the the Naples Community Hospital, which they all received for free. Salley has expressed his gratitude to the regular, saying that he was glad not only for himself, but for his employees.

One of Salley’s employees, server Andrea Gianello, said, “That last day of work, we weren’t planning on coming back until everything reopened.” In regards to the regular, she said, “It felt good that someone genuinely cared about the community to come out and help… and help the nurses and the doctors.”

Salley hopes that this story of generosity will inspire similar acts for other local restaurants that have lost business due to the pandemic.