Cafe Owner Feels Blessed After Hiring Homeless Man & Seeing His Compassion For Others

May 03, 2022 by apost team

Everyone falls upon hard times at some point in their life. For some, it may be more frequent or more difficult than others. When a man named Marcus walked into a Minnesota cafe asking for money the owner didn’t escort him out the door, yet welcomed him. 

Cesia Abigail Baires is a 25-year-old who owns the cafe Abi’s Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After opening her cafe, one day she had a life-changing encounter. When Marcus walked into Abi’s Cafe he was looking for nothing more than money. However, little did Marcus know that when he stepped into the restaurant, he’d be stepping into a blessing. 

Asking for money or any spare change from Abi’s Cafe, the owner said she wanted to give him more than just a few dollars. After inviting him to sit down and share his story, Baires found out that Marcus came from a rough past. Marcus told her he had been living on the streets since he was a young man and that he also had multiple felonies. 

After hearing his touching life story, Baires said she offered him a job on the spot. It wasn’t much besides washing dishes and taking out the cafe’s trash—but Marcus was ecstatic. Before putting Marcus to work, Baires gave Marcus a meal. However, she wasn’t expecting what he did next. 

Marcus stepped outside briefly to share his hot meal with another homeless friend of his. That is when the owner knew she wanted to keep him around long-term. Marcus went from homeless and unemployed to hired and no longer hungry. 

Baires told a Minnesota local news station that, “I’m not just going to give him a couple of dollars or food today, I want to know about him,” she said. So the owner sat down with the homeless man to hear his stories. She said it didn’t take her long to realize she could help the man in more ways than some money.

“I said Marcus would you like to stay a couple hours? Do you want a job? Do you want to work, I have one for you,” the owner added. After witnessing his kind act of generosity toward another homeless person, Baires said she knew she wanted to hire Marcus long term. 

“From then on that’s when I just made the decision that I was going to ask him to keep coming,” Baires said. Quickly, Marcus’s two hours of work turned into part-time work for two weeks. 

“So now for almost two weeks he been on time for his two hour shift.... helping take trash, washing dishes etc,” Baires told CBS News.  

The owner was so touched my her new employees story, she decided to share it on her Facebook page. Almost instantly becoming an internet sensation, the Facebook post created a buzz around not only the owners kindness, but Marcus too. Baires didn’t stop there either. She would go on to raise over $8,000 to help other people in need as well. 

“A lot of people are saying I've been a blessing for him, but at that point I was the one who needed a blessing,” she said. 

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With the Facebook post being an instant hit, the praise was high for Baire’s act of kindness. 

People wrote comments like, “You opened that door up to the universe, or God, showing where your heart is so I'm sure you will get more opportunities to make a difference in those lives and give them hope,” one user wrote. 

Another wrote, “Amazing! What a kind soul! I know he values it and appreciates you giving him the chance!”

The owner acknowledges that not every restaurant takes a chance on people off the street. 

"Some restaurants wouldn't even let you use their restrooms," she said. She added, "I don't judge someone on how they look -- go use it. I do not treat [homeless people] any different."

Baires didn’t just hire Marcus, she also helped him start to get his life together. While he worked, Baires would save 10% of his check to start a savings for him. 

"Just like Marcus, I had my help," Abigail explained. "I had plenty of people to help make it to where I am today. They believed I could do it. People need to have someone believe in them."

Ultimately, owner of Abi’s Cafe said she wanted to help Marcus, but he also had to help himself. 

"It's going to be hard for him to let go of whatever addiction he has," she said. "I want to help [him], but [he] needs to want to help [himself.]"

Abi’s Cafe renamed itself to Abi’s Restaurant and now has a new location and a food truck. 

Would you be as generous as Abi’s Cafe’s owner? If you were inspired by love and kindness in this article—make sure to send it to others who will love it too!