He took $2,000 out of his advertising budget and bought gift cards to the other restaurants in his community to raffle off to his customers. He wanted to help other restaurants after a local realtor company helped his restaurant at the beginning of the pandemic. According to WKOW, the receiving restaurants said they were thankful for Melendez's generosity, and know that surviving the pandemic means working together.
Melendez believes in the importance of keeping small businesses open during the pandemic because they are staples of the community. He told CNN affiliate WKOW, "If you help one person and another person helps another, that will help a lot."