Business is down, but donations, surprise free lunches are up at this Fresno restaurant
Take 3, the burger restaurant on Fulton Street in downtown Fresno, only has about three or four paying customers coming in a day.
But it’s doing big business in a different way.
A snowballing circle of donations and free lunch deliveries is keeping the restaurant’s doors open and its employees working.
About a week and a half ago, a friend came in to the restaurant for food and handed over $200, telling co-owner Desirae Washington to use the money to give burgers to anyone she wanted who might need them. Another friend chipped in $100.
Washington wasn’t quite sure how to find people to give the burgers to, so she began delivering the free lunches to essential workers. That included a daycare, surgical centers and the Smart & Final grocery store at Blackstone and Clinton avenues.
So far, Take 3 has delivered about 150 free meals.
“Every place we went to was so excited to get free food,” she said. “We get to surprise other hardworking people who are struggling, just working like we are.”
The whole thing caught fire and now more people are donating and more are requesting the free lunches.
The donations allow the restaurant to keep its three employees working when business is drastically down due to the coronavirus, and for the restaurant to make ends meet.
“We’re going to keep it going for as long as we can,” Washington said. “It’s very important for us to spread positivity right now, and we’re really grateful everybody is spreading it back to us.”
The public can donate by calling the restaurant at 559-489-0490, or by contacting it through Facebook (@take3burgers) or Instagram or email at take3burgers@gmail.com.
To nominate a workplace for free lunch, send a message via Facebook or Instagram with the number of people in the workplace, location and contact information.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
