Wisconsin Restaurant Owner Buys Gift Cards to Other Restaurants

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While we've all heard the phrase, 'We're in this together...' a lot during the pandemic, one restaurant owner in Wisconsin is putting his money where his mouth is to help out fellow restaurants.

If you're looking for some good news, check out this story that comes from Stevens Point, Wisconsin-- about a half-hour south of my hometown of Wausau, WI (just over three hours northeast of Rochester, according to Google  Maps-- in a route I know well.) It's about a restaurant owner there who just spent $2,000 of his own money to buy gift cards to OTHER local restaurants!

I've got to hand it to Adolfo Melendez. He owns the El Mezcal Restaurant on Windy Drive in Stevens Point. And according to this WSAW-TV story, he's REALLY doing something to help out his fellow restaurants-- by buying gift cards to their establishments. Like, $2,000 worth of gift cards to other central Wisconsin area restaurants.

The story said that Melendez, who opened the El Mezcal restaurant just before the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, is spending the $2,000 he was going to use on marketing his restaurants to buy 100 different $20 gift cards to other local restaurants-- and is then going to raffle them off on his Facebook page.

And other local restaurants say they're thankful for Melendez's gesture, noting that selling gift cards and offering food for take-out have been some of the only ways local mom-and-pop restaurants have been able stay in business throughout the past year as the pandemic limited their opportunities.

Hopefully, the El Mezcal Restaurant will see some residual benefits as a result of their kind gesture to other restaurants in the area and can still stay in business. Of course, as we know, not all businesses stay open forever. Keep scrolling to check out this list of popular brands that aren't around anymore

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