Bar Owner Pays Unemployed Staff with Money Attached to Walls and Ceiling

A bar owner in Georgia paid her currently unemployed staff using money that was stapled to her bar’s walls and ceiling. According to Jennifer Knox, owner of The Sand Bar in Tybee Island, customers had been leaving their mark on the establishment by writing notes on bills and stapling them to the bar’s walls and ceiling for almost 15 years. Last March, The Sand Bar had to close its doors because of the coronavirus outbreak, leaving her business and employees in a financial struggle. After much thought, she decided to put the money her customers had left over the years to good use. It took Knox and some volunteers more than three days to remove all the money from the bar’s walls and ceiling. She said that while removing the money was an emotional process, she enjoyed reading the messages, which were mostly written by customers who were celebrating special occasions. In the end, the group was able to gather $3,714. After hearing about Knox’s act of altruism, some customers also donated to the cause, bringing the total amount to $4,104. Knox gave the bar’s employees $600 each. After the successful donation, Knox decided to raise money not just for her employees but also for other struggling workers in the area. Knox was able to collect $2,000 for this initiative in two weeks. Knox is optimistic that her bar will reopen once the pandemic is over. The Sand Bar’s interior was recently repainted, covering all parts where the money had been removed from. Currently, Knox is thinking of a new way for patrons to leave their mark on the bar.