Probably most of us know at least one bar that has gone quite overboard with its unique decorations. Antique furniture, really weird vintage animal posters, family pictures all over the walls, coins glued to the bar⁠—you name it. Well, it turns out some of them might actually be useful in these grim times during the coronavirus pandemic. Especially the latter.

The Sand Bar in Tybee Island, Georgia used to have quite similar decorations. Except they had dollar bills up on their walls rather than coins glued to their bar. But the dollar bills are up on the walls no more since the owners decided to put them to greater use and take them down in order to pay their staff.

Since most bars and restaurants are currently struggling due to the coronavirus lockdown, owners have had to get creative about paying their staff

Over a span of three days, a Tybee Island bar removed $3,714 worth of bills stapled to their walls to give to their unemployed staff. 📸Jennifer Knox of The Sand Bar pic.twitter.com/Aiz2NBCPxy

— Amanda Jackson (@AmandaJ_TX) April 8, 2020

Jennifer Knox, the owner of The Sand Bar, located in Tybee Island, Georgia, came up with a genius plan to get that extra cash she needed for that

While interesting and tasteful decorations may often contribute to the success of a bar or a restaurant, this time, it may also contribute to this one’s survival during the coronavirus lockdown. The Sand Bar in Tybee Island, Georgia was known for its one-of-a-kind decorations. Its walls were covered in bills with tiny little notes from its customers.

The dollar bills decorating the bar’s wall were removed over the span of three days and put to greater use

Image credits: Jennifer Knox

Turns out, the custom of writing a note on a bill and stapling it to the wall was an ongoing tradition for over 15 years. But the recent lockdown forced bar owner Jennifer Knox to take the bills down and put them to greater use. Since the state lawmakers issued a stay-at-home-directive in an attempt to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus, The Sand Bar, among many other non-essential services, closed its doors, leaving the staff underpaid until the lockdown is lifted.

The $3,714 that was previously stapled to the walls was used to pay the unemployed staff

While this put Jennifer into an uncomfortable position, she didn’t give up and tried thinking out of the box. She took a good look at her bar and decided to remove its signature decorations in order to pay her staff. “We were sitting there, doors locked, and I’m like ‘oh my gosh, there’s money on the walls and we have time on our hands. We gotta get this money down,'” she said.

It’s all thanks to the bar’s customers, who were pinning money to the walls after writing little notes on it

After the notes were taken down, they were thoroughly cleaned and counted carefully. This whole process took about a week and a half, but was well worth it, since Knox was able to collect $3,714 from all the bills stapled to the walls and ceiling. When their regulars heard about Jennifer’s efforts to pay her staff, they wanted to contribute as well and donated to the cause, raising the sum to $4,104. Four bartenders and two musicians were given $600 each.

They have been stapling bills to the walls for over 15 years up until now when the owner removed them

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I’ll do what I can for my people… We all look out for each other. We are all in this together,” she said. She also added that there’s a way to donate to the Tybee Island service industry via Venmo. Her credentials are @Jennifer-Knox-61.

Extreme times call for extreme measures!

Image credits: Jennifer Knox

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