MayMoes serves breakfast to furloughed workers
Giving back to the community that gave him his start means everything to Jason Davis, the owner of a Cajun and Creole restaurant in Cache Valley called MayMoes.
After three years in Logan, Davis said he felt it will always be his duty to give back when he is able to. It’s for that reason that Davis decided to offer a free buffet-style breakfast for furloughed federal employees and their families on Saturday mornings.
“I’ve been broke before and honestly, I don’t know if it’s about the money so much for the people as it is just the opportunity to get out of the house and have a nice family meal together,” Davis said. “I know when I was out of work I tended to sit at home a lot, so it was nice just to help people get out of the house.”
Davis said that many volunteers and employees have donated their time and food to help the community. Davis is also offering a reduced $4 special each day.
While the federal government is finishing its fourth week of shutdown over President Trump’s $5 billion border wall along the Mexico-U.S. border, thousands of workers are going unpaid and some are even being forced to work with no pay. The shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history.
Austin Miracal is an animal care technician at the Predator Research Facility, which is overseen by USDA Wildlife Services. Miracal said that if the shutdown goes for another two weeks, he will be out of money.
“We were lucky to have three pay periods in one month in November,” Miracal said. “This allowed me to save some money and I’m okay right now, but pretty soon it’s going to get pretty rough. My neighbors have been helping me with food.”
Miracal said that because he lives alone with his dog, he hasn’t been affected as much as others. However, he worries about his pet’s security.
MayMoes cajan resturant in Logan Utah January 21, 2019.
“I still have probably a half a bag of food for her, so she’s okay for a bit longer,” he said. “She’s a couch potato, so that helps. I’ve had to get creative with the food at home, but I can’t even imagine what would happen if this continues much longer.”
Forest Service worker Scott Robinson and his family said that luckily they were prepared for an event such as this.
“I’ve worked for the government for twenty years now,” Robinson said. “I hope it doesn’t continue. I have a serious hope that our government will get back to work.”
Robinson said he has seen many shutdowns over the years and he remains grateful for the community’s support of federal workers, whether they are at work or not.
“The Catholic community has offered food, and we are so thankful,” said Scott’s wife, Leslie. “We try to plan and have a safety net when things like this happen. Thankfully, we can pay for our house, but it’s been an adjustment, that’s for sure. Hopefully things will get back to normal.”
Though the length of the shutdown is still unknown, Davis said that MayMoes will keep serving a free meal every Saturday, even a few weeks after the government is running again, until he runs out of food or money.
—erickwood97@gmail.com
@GrahamWoodMedia