SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Before the pandemic, you could find regulars like Ned at one of the restaurants under the Mo’s Bar & Grill franchise in Hillcrest.
“We didn’t know him personally as a friend, but as a guest coming into restaurants I’d say hi because he was a regular,” said Chris Shaw, co-owner of Mo’s Bar & Grill.
Last March, Ned, who wanted to go by just his first name, reached out to Shaw following the first round of shutdowns among San Diego restaurants following COVID-19.
“He came in with a check for $6,000. The money went directly to employees. They divided it to staff in envelopes with Ned’s information in case they wanted to thank him because it was a generous gift and it went right to them,” described Shaw.
What Shaw didn’t realize, staff would want to hang on to Ned’s information to thank him again.
“The second time it was like that's amazing and then when he came in the third time it brought tears to my eyes. It makes me emotional now because he's just a wonderful man who cares about the staff and community," said Shaw.
By December, Ned donated three $6,000 checks totaling close to $20,000 for employees among the five restaurants.
“I knew people were struggling and one day I was making a deposit and thought I'm not able to do traveling so I’ll make a donation,” said Ned. “I got to know employees and workers, it was more like a family.”
As long as restaurants rode the roller coaster of regulations served down from the state, Ned was there to help.
“As time went on in summer, I had extra cash and that's when I called Chris and brought him another check. I'm still getting messages from people still thanking me," Ned said.
“I was grateful, the staff was amazingly grateful, every bit helped, it was difficult during that time,” said Shaw.
