Loss-Making Cafe Owner Is Dazed to See Long Line Days after Hiring Homeless Girl – Story of the Day

Andrew had always dreamed of owning a restaurant, and his dream eventually came true. However, when a new restaurant opened nearby, the competition almost ran his business to the ground. Although, all that changed after he hired a homeless young woman with a unique outlook on life.

It had taken almost ten years of blood, sweat, tears, and unceasing prayer for Andrew to finally get his restaurant up and running. Since his early years as a waiter and then later as an assistant chef, he had always hoped and dreamed of owning his own restaurant.

His restaurant had been open for three years, and within the last year, Andrew was finally beginning to see the fruit of his labor. Not only was his place one of the top establishments in his block, but in the town as a whole.

It seemed that everything was going well for Andrew, and it seemed that things would only become even better from then on. However, things would soon take an unexpected turn for Andrew and his business due to a new restaurant Le Cafe, was opened across the street.

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Andrew was prepared for his new competitor to compete with him and get a bit of a run for his money. It was not an unusual thing, companies open and close, but he always managed to maintain his position.

However, things did not work out for Andrew as they did before. His new competitor started to take his customers away. At first it was only a matter of one or two dozen customers each month, and later it became a significant reduction, something around a half of his monthly business.

His competitor had such a strong promotional campaign , that at certain times it seemed that Andrew’s restaurant was totally invisible. His colleagues’s signs and posters covered the messages that he tried to spread.

The more time progressed, the fewer customers Andrew had. He would stand outside his restaurant watching the long queues outside his competitors’ restaurant as his employees nursed the few loyal customers they still had.

After a while, Andrew was forced to make salary cuts. This was the tipping point for Andrew as his staff began to abandon him. The busier things got at his competitors’ restaurant, the more vacancies they had opened. Andrews’s staff started to leave his establishment for Le Cafe.

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With each waking day, Andrew watched as his dream pulled further away from his grasp. His business was spiraling into debt, and it appeared as if there was nothing he could do about it. He tried everything in his power, but the odds were seemingly stacked against him, and no sign of dawn was in sight.

However, things were about to turn around for Andrew, and he had no idea. One day, one of Andrew’s most prominent waiters, Danny, decided to quit after receiving a lucrative offer from Le Cafe. Andrew begged and pleaded with him to stay, but he was hearing none of it.

“Please, Danny! I was there for you when nobody would give you the time of day. I don’t say that to hold anything against you. All I ask is you show me the same compassion,” Andrew pleaded with Danny as he rushed behind him towards the back exit.

“Listen, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Andrew. But the truth is, this is a sinking ship,” Danny said, chucking his waiter’s apron into the dustbin as they exited the back door into the downpouring alleyway.

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“C’mon, Danny. If you leave now, I’ll only have four waiters left. I’m already struggling with wages as it is. Just give me a month. Please!” Andrew begged, grabbing Danny by the arm in desperation. Alegra, a homeless young woman in rags, stopped picking through a nearby trash can and watched inquisitively from a distance as Andrew and Danny’s dispute proceeded.

“I don’t need your lousy job anymore,” Danny barked, violently pulling away from Andrew’s grip. “You know how much they are paying at Le Cafe? More than I could have ever dreamed of. And you think I’ll stick around here for what? Peanuts? Never!” Danny concluded before storming off.

“Please, Danny!” Andrew begged as he watched Danny walk off in the distance, leaving him in the wet, cold, deserted alleyway.

“Excuse me, sir,” Alegra said. An astounded Andrew turned to see the homeless young woman.

“Listen, this is not a good time. I do
n’t have any change for you,” Andrew said dejectedly.

“Oh, no. I don’t want any money from you. I just couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. I would love to help, if possible,” Alegra explained.

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“Look, that’s nice of you, but—” Andrew started before Alegra abruptly chimed in.

“You won’t have to pay me, sir. All I ask for is a little food to get by,” Alegra insisted. Andrew contemplatively looked at the young woman, recognizing the look in her eyes. It was the same look of determination that got him his first gig as a waiter all those years back.

“Alright. Let’s get you cleaned up, you tell me more about you, and take it from there,” Andrew casually said, walking back into the restaurant. Alegra followed with a hopeful beam.

From that very moment, Andrew got Alegra cleaned up and put her to work. Andrew enjoyed every moment he got to watch Alegra grow in her position. She improved with every passing day, giving the job her all and always with the most welcoming smile.

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Unlike Andrew’s other employees, she never complained or did anything reluctantly. Alegra displayed a hunger and enthusiasm Andrew had never seen before. What baffled him even more, was the fact that she wasn’t even getting paid a cent for it.

“I didn’t go through four years of culinary school for this!”

Alegra did everything perfectly and diligently. She was never late and learned quickly. Andrew eventually even allowed her to spend nights in the restaurant.

Things were still strainful for Andrew as they continued to lose customers to Andrews’s competitor. To make matters worse, Andrew fell ill due to all the stress he encountered trying to keep his business afloat.

He eventually collapsed at work and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Because of the severity of his medical condition, the doctors admitted him for a couple of days. Andrew was utterly distraught because his business needed him now more than ever. However, he had no choice but to cater to his health.

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Even in Andrew’s absence, Alegra continued with the same enthusiasm and drive that had caught Andrew’s attention from her very first day. Unfortunately, things kept turning for the worst at the restaurant when more staff didn’t come to work. The head chef, seeing that he was working with Alegra, who was living in the streets not so long ago, also threw in the towel.

“I didn’t go through four years of culinary school for this!” the head chef snapped, throwing his chef hat into a boiling pot and storming off.

Alegra visited Andrew that night and explained what had transpired at the restaurant. When Andrew heard the news, he fell into bitter weeping. He feared his dream was officially on the brink of tragic demise.

“I’m sorry, sir. But please, don’t lose hope. You showed me so much kindness when nobody would give me a second look. It’s not the end for you. Things will get better. Just don’t lose hope,” Alegra said, holding his hand reassuringly.

After a while, Andrew was finally discharged from the hospital. The moment he was released, he went straight to the restaurant to see what he could salvage before he ultimately had to close it down.

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As he drove down the street toward his restaurant, he could not believe what he saw. He saw customers casually dining in the restaurant just like back in the day. He had expected it to be closed, considering what Alegra had told him.

He looked around for the staff, but there was none. Andrew immediately parked his car and rushed into the restaurant with overwhelming excitement and curiosity. As he entered the restaurant, he noticed the customers were all eating dishes that weren’t on his menu.

“Sir, you’re back!” a thrilled Alegra exclaimed, rushing out of the kitchen with two plates. She served the plates to the customers and then beckoned Andrew over to the kitchen.

“Wow! Alegra, you’re amazing! I don’t know how I can ever thank you. You may have saved my restaurant,” a jovial Andrew said.

“Alegra, how did you do it?” an awestruck Andrew asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

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“Taste this,” Alegra said, handing a spoon. “Well? What do ya think?” she continued when Andrew’s silence failed to give away his thoughts.

* him a spoonful of the soup on the counter.

Andrew Boyanti (originally spelled Boy John Manyy) moved to America when he was very young. He was born into a well-to-do family. His parents were known as high-class businesspeople, and they were very successful.

Although Andrew was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, as soon as he moved to America, he felt the need to work hard to find his own way into success. After college, he opened a restaurant in a small part of Los Angeles.

Andrew always wanted to do the best he could, and his restaurant came to be known as one of the best small-town dining establishments in the area.

The magic recipes for success had done their job. After a year or two, Andrew’s restaurant was doing well. However, even during its peak, Andrew continued to dream of expanding his business and reaching a wider audience.

Andrew hoped and longed for fame and thus gave his establishment a new name to set him apart from ordinary small-town restaurants. Andrew named his restaurant, “Boy John’s Kitchen.”

Anyone could go there and enjoy a hearty meal surrounded by soothing atmosphere. Each dish was a gourmet experience. The food was juicy and roasted to perfection, giving it a dark golden, slightly charred but crispy exterior when drawn into tumbling and flashing the masonry but the cutaneous skin.

The restaurant’s steaks and roasts became famous all over the country, and soon customers could be found making the pilgrimage, even from out-of-state, to get a piece of culinary heaven.

In contrast, Le Cafe a Michelin star-rated restaurant seated on the opposite side of the street did not do very well. This is largely because it was very pricey asked for $ 25 for a meal, whereas Andrew charged $ 15 for a heavy meal complete with three side dishes.

Business was booming and Andrew had no intention of stopping the fire that he had started. A few months after his business had ignited him at his present location, he took the next step. He opened himself a more popular location far more popular.

Because the food control was so great, Andrew operated on both, with the older and more popular location away from the new one closer to the center of town, a more crowded and commercial area.

The stories about his food soon became retold and reputed on the Internet, particularly on the food perspective websites, forums, and blogs. Food critics from all over town made pilgrimages to Andrew’s restaurant to taste some of the best meals in the region.

Andrew was pleased with the reactions from his local and out of town critics and knew that he had achieved a level of fame that he had not found after in his area to this day.

One day, there was no one for Andrew had arguably the worst days of his life or the worst years. Although everything had gone according to plan, nothing seemed to be working out.

A number of food losses resulted in a shortage of customers and increasing concerns about where profits were going to come from.

After some time, people began to notice that they were using inferior quality kitchen utensils and food items. Within two years, the business suffered a series of fires and rapid drop in customer turnout. Improper maintenance resulted in broken pipes and shortages. Soon, the old owner’s location was closed and leased to someone else. Finally, Andrew had only one kitchen, and it was not even his location.

Recovering from the set of disasters and trying to get his life back together, Andrew took a job at Le Cafe as a waiter.

Andrew worked for a year or two and tried to keep up with the bills for the new Guy John’s Kitchen until he was thrown out of it completely.

There was no money left for the food there, and the black of the night John’s Kitchen restaurant was closed again on its second location in just a few years. Andrew never made it out of his maze of financial disasters and was digging himself into $ 100,000 in debt after three years.

The worst that could happen to Andrew was manifesting itself in countless other issues around the city. To boost its popularity even more, Andrew hired a mysterious woman, Alegra to help cook on a busy Saturday night.

When she showed up at the door and pushed it open, Andrew’s heart sank.

“Hmm… This is good. Is this you? All of this?” Andrew asked, gesturing at the other prepared meals on the counter.

“Yep. I pulled out some of my mother’s old recipes and spent the last couple of days cooking and prepping what I could. I opened up the shop and gave it a shot,” Alegra explained.

“All on your own?” Andrew asked, bewildered.

“Yep. It wasn’t easy. Luckily most of the meals were pre-cooked, allowing me a little leeway. But, yeah, it was no walk in the park,” Alegra explained, still with that welcoming smile.

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“Wow! Alegra, you’re amazing! I don’t know how I can ever thank you. You may have saved my restaurant,” Andrew explained, almost in tears.

“Well, for starters, you could give me a hand,” Alegra said, handing Andrew a waiter’s apron. “I’ll cover the kitchen. You handle the front,” Alegra concluded. Andrew grabbed the apron and simply smiled, still in awe of the young woman’s tenacity, talent, and resilience.

After that day, Andrew and Alegra worked back to back, trying to keep the restaurant. Alegra cooked while Andrew served the guests, just like in the old days when he first dreamed of starting a restaurant of his own.

Andrew officially changed his menu to all of Alegra’s recipes. Soon the restaurant began to pick up momentum, and they could finally hire more staff. They found themselves even doing better than their competitor, Le Cafe.

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The customers loved Alegra’s dishes, and soon, the restaurant became renowned city-wide and eventually nationwide. It was now popular and would get so full that people would have to queue in the street just to get a table.

Alegra became Andrew’s head chef, and after successfully heading up Andrew’s restaurant, Alegra opened her own establishment under Andrew’s guidance.

What can we learn from this story?

• A resilient and positive spirit can turn things around. Alegra had a positive outlook from her very first day on the job. This positivity, coupled with her resilience helped, helped change the situation for Andrew’s restaurant.
• Do not overlook the outcast and underdog. Alegra was a homeless person who most people in society overlooked. However, Andrew gave her a chance, and she proved herself.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a restaurant manager who was waiting on a secret reviewer and ordered his waiters to ignore an ordinary-looking woman, only to find out she was the reviewer.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.