WILLIAMSTON MICH. — One downtown Williamston business is giving free sandwiches to people in need. Another is giving away free haircuts.
Jose Miroquesada opened Jose's Cuban Sandwiches and Deli off of Grand River Avenue last March, only two weeks before the lockdown.
Miroquesada said he worried about opening right when everything was shutting down, but the community support was overwhelming.
“You know, we got good response by the community,” he said.
That's why, when he saw Ken McCoy's Facebook post offering free meals to people in need, he knew he wanted to be part of it.
“We thought it was something good," Miroquesada said. "We’ve always been trying to do something to help out the community too.”
McCoy said he got the idea from a Facebook post of a bar in Louisiana doing something similar. Why not try it in Williamston, he thought.
“People are struggling with the COVID thing and all that kind of stuff," McCoy said. "Some people aren’t working as many hours or working at all and that was the thought behind it.”
Jose's has been the first business to jump on board selling $7 meal tickets that give someone in need a sandwich and a side.
"You come in and purchase a meal, a prepaid meal, and anybody that's struggling can come in and get that ticket and get a free meal," McCoy said.
Customers can purchase a ticket and take it to someone they know who is in need.
“So far we got some people right now," Miroquesada said. "They’re coming in and picking up some tickets. Taking home with them to someone who really needs it.”
Or have it added to the others 20 in the window.
About a block down the street is the Williamston Barbershop. Jordan Keener has owned it for two years.
“I decided to go to barber school and the rest is where I’m at right now,” Keener said.
He decided to do a Kind Cut service offering free haircuts to anyone in need.
“It’s so much easier for us to be able to recognize when a kid might not have the means or the parents don’t have the means or a guy might not have the money to come in and get that service, for us to just give it back and pay it forward that way,” Keener said
He and his co-worker decided to do it because, “If you look good, you feel good and if you feel good you do good," he said.
Customers can donate money towards the business for future Kind Cuts and appointments can be made on the barbershop's website.
“They’ve been sending Venmo money saying, 'Here, here’s kind cuts I want to buy three cuts, I want to buy two cuts, I want to buy four cuts.'”
Both business owners are happy to be giving back to the community and making people's days during the pandemic.
“If we can help out anybody in the community that’s the main goal,” McCoy said.
Appointments for the Williamston Barbershop's Kind Cuts can be made at williamstonbarbershop.com.
Jose's Cuban Sandwiches and Deli sell the meal tickets in person, but their menu can be viewed here: josescubansandwich.com.
