RUSSELLVILLE, Ky. (WTVF) — A Kentucky city's cafe has been open for just a month. There's something different about this place that's made it immediately beloved. Many others are wanting to help this mission.
How this cafe in Russellville, Kentucky, came to be all starts with a good friendship.
It was four years ago. Alvy Holloway was a florist. Shawn Lowery was a high-end cake maker.
"We met during a wedding and became fast friends," Alvy said.
"We enjoyed each other's company," Shawn added.
One day, they decided to peek inside the building that would eventually become their shared business.
"It was built in 1866," Alvy said.
"It used to be part of the prison system," Shawn added. "Clearly, people had been squatting in here."
"It was graffitied," Alvy continued. "It was burnt holes in the floor. It was a nightmare. I said, 'Wow, what a great cafe this would make!' She said, 'on what planet?!'"
After two years of hard work, Shawn and Alvy's The Giving Plate is now open.
On display on a wall are more than one hundred wooden figures. Each figure represents a plate of food a customer at The Giving Plate has donated to someone else.
"We allow our customers to pay it forward," Alvy said. "Anyone at any time can come in, and they will be fed inside the restaurant at a table with everyone else."
"We want to feed the homeless," Shawn added. "We want to feed the people who are down and out."
The efforts don't stop there. An employee can communicate with customers through American Sign Language. The place is looking to employ people needing work after being jailed.
It's made Shawn and Alvy proud to see how Russellville has embraced what they're doing. They said, just like their building could be saved, so can people.
"It's why we're here," Shawn said. "We're all one choice away from a bad situation. Some of us have had someone to help and some haven't. We want to be that person."
"We love the Lord, and we do all of this in his name," Alvy added. "It's about loving one another, and it's for everyone. Or it's for no one."
Get ready to get inspired - Tad found a second purpose later in life, turning his hobby into his full-time gig. He helps the planet, helps homeowners and finds fulfillment in a slower pace after being on the front-line during the pandemic.
-Rebecca Schleicher
