TOLEDO, Ohio — For more than a year, the Lowrider CAFE on N. Michigan Street in downtown Toledo has been serving Mexican American food downtown.
Then, a global pandemic changed everything.
"When COVID hit, it was scary. A lot of people, when they told us we had to shut down dining a lot of people were afraid. Definitely us. So we told our employees it's gonna be slow for a while," Lowrider CAFE co-owner Jacob Estrada said.
But the business owners aren't letting the virus stop it from spreading the love to those most in need.
Loyal customers returned when the cafe reopened, including several people without a home and others down on their luck. So owners Jacob Estrada and Sylvia Almaguer shifted gears to stay open and share some love.
They do this through a system they call love tokens. For $5 you can purchase one through their social media or in person. They will then hold on to the token in what they call a love dispenser until someone comes by and asks for a meal.
"Now the shelters they're quarantining when they go to stay at a shelter. A lot of them don't want to be quarantined and also they're afraid being indoors around so many other homeless people," Estrada said.
With food limited at some shelters, the owners said anywhere between one and 10 people come in and ask for a plate of tacos, rice and beans on any given day,
A plate paid for by a stranger, like Andrew Krouse, as a token of love.
"When you're hungry, the stomachs empty, it's a really bad feeling. Just everything seems hopeless. So to be able to get a meal inside is a wonderful thing," loyal customer Krouse said.
"I find it amazing. I mean we need more opportunity for that. For like you know people like this to give them another chance to let them feel basically the love that you know, that some...most have in this community," new customer Stephanie Carmony said.
The Lowrider Cafe owners say it's just their way of lending a helping hand to their community which has pushed them through these difficult times.
"Even if the meals have to get skimpier and we had to lighten up on some things, we'd still give. That's one thing about us," Estrada said.
"We're givers. We love to bless other and in return we get blessed. We get blessed with their friendship, their trust. They come to us in hardships and them open up to us," Almaguer added.
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