Originally Posted on Palm Beach Post
Howley’s Restaurant on Dixie Highway became a mini-food distribution center Saturday as owner Rodney Mayo handed out food to charities and to workers left jobless by the coronavirus.
WEST PALM BEACH — One by one Saturday, from as far away as Okeechobee, the cars pulled into the parking lot behind Howley’s Restaurant.
A few minutes later, volunteers emerged from the diner and delivered brown-paper bags full of food — and that treasured commodity, a roll of toilet paper.
The occupants of the cars had one thing in common. They’re all hospitality workers who just days ago lost their jobs because of state-imposed closures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
They face an uncertain future heavy with anxiety about how they’ll take care of their families with little to no income. But for one day, at least, they’ll have a hot meal, thanks to a relief mission launched by Rodney Mayo, owner of Howley’s and its parent company, Subculture Group.
From 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Mayo and his band of volunteers turned Howley’s into a meal distribution center. They handed out hundreds of free meals to local hospitality workers displaced by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ coronavirus-prevention orders to close all Palm Beach County restaurants and bars.
