As bars and restaurants across the U.S. struggle financially amid the coronavirus pandemic, one coastal Georgia bar owner found a way to help her employees.
Jennifer Knox, who owns The Sand Bar in Tybee Island, recently removed $3,714 that lined the walls of her establishment and gave it to her struggling service workers.
Credit: The Sand Bar/ Facebook
Credit: The Sand Bar/ Facebook
"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. "'We gotta get this money down.'"
Knox worked as a bartender at The Sand Bar for seven years before owning it, and now runs the business with her mother.
The cash — mostly ones — was collected from the bar’s patrons over the past 15 years. The guests, most of whom were out-of-towners vacationing at the beach, would scrawl their names on dollar bills that were then stapled onto the wood-paneled walls and ceiling.
Knox told CNN it took five volunteers more than three days to carefully remove the weathered cash. Many of the bills had been riddled with dozens of staples over the years.
Some of the money included foreign currency that guests collected from countries across the globe, she said. Once the cash was taken down, it took Knox more than a week to clean off the bills and count the money, CNN reported.
The stacks of cash stretched across the empty bar, which is typically bustling with thirsty tourists this time of year. After hearing of her good deed, several regulars also chipped in.
By the time it was all said and done, Knox collected more than $4,100 to give out to her staff. Two musicians and four bartenders were given $600 each, she told CNN.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing," she said. "I'll do what I can for my people."
Now, the once-crowded walls of Knox’s bar seem a little more bare.
Credit: The Sand Bar/ Facebook
Credit: The Sand Bar/ Facebook
She said she’s hopeful her business will reopen once this is all over. In the meantime, Knox said she will continue accepting cash to give away to other struggling service workers.
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