MEMPHIS, Tenn. — We continue to hear more and more stories of people who are stepping up to help others during this pandemic. Folks are recognizing a need and doing something about it. Local 24 News Reporter, Brittani Moncrease, shows us how one Memphis restaurant is not only helping those on the front lines, but also people in the hospitality industry.
A little goes a long way. That's the message from the team at Fino's on the Hill. They are leading by example.
Sometimes all it takes is to put yourself in someone else's shoes. That is the mind frame of Fino's part owner, Kelly English.
"When I think about my industry specifically, there's two groups of people in that industry right now. There are the people that are out of work and the people that are working really hard to make sure that those places continue to exist. Both of them are very stressful," said English.
He took a chance.
English asked the community to help his team feed out-of-work hospitality professionals and health care workers fighting the pandemic.
"People could give contributions to us. For $400, we would deliver $500 in food to a group of first responders," said English.
The community answered. Fino's was able to have an open $2,000 tab now that the inside has reopened.
"They can eat here or they can take it to go, but we don't ask any questions. You just show us your badge and tell us what restaurant you worked at and we've got a meal for you," said English.
To date, they have provided more than 15,000 free meals since March.
"It means a lot to us that people trust our team the way that they do and for us to be able to deliver not just for our team, but for people that are contributing to helping us through this just means the world to us," said English.
While grateful for Fino's part, English knows it still takes a village.
"It almost feels selfish to see how much people appreciate the little things that we do. I think that there's so many little things that we can all do that leads up to one big result of making sure that as a community, we stay safe and we stay healthy," said English.
He said none of this would be possible without the help of his team and the community.
