FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - The owners of a pub in Fort Lauderdale were looking for a way to cash-in, so they could help their staff during this difficult time, and as it turns out, the writing was on the wall.
The walls inside Hott Leggz Restaurant and Bar look a little different from those in a typical pub. Speaking with 7News on Thursday, co-owner Ky Novak explained why.
“Our thing is to have people be involved in what we do, and in doing so, we came up with the dollar idea,” he said. “People write on the dollar they choose and hang it up, and that’s their way of having a little piece of themselves here.”
For nine years, customers at the seafood and burger joint located on East Commercial Boulevard used to sign and hang dollar bills all over the walls.
“There’s pretty unique messages on there. There’s funny, there’s nice, there’s ‘I’m from a particular place,’ there is very obscene,” said Novak. “It’s everything. There is a little something on those bills for everyone to laugh at and to be a part of just what piece that they can have here.”
But when the restaurant had to change from dine-in to carryout and delivery, business dropped, and the owners realized a solution to their problem was right under their noses.
“We had to lay off 23 employees, and we came up with the idea that we were literally sitting on money. Why not help the people who have been helping us for years?” said co-owner Juliana Sodre. “It was dollars everywhere. It looks a little different now.”
Bill by bill, Novak and Sodre removed about $10,000 that was used to help pay employees.
“It’s a lot of money in the scheme of things, but it’s a little bit per employee, and we just think it’s good to get them through. If it helps get a little stress off, then we’ve done something right,” said Novak.
“I did come across a lot of old dollars. Some of them couldn’t be saved, unfortunately,” said Sodre. “We have no control over what the bank will tell us, which ones are good and which ones are not, but there’s some cool dollars up there.”
The bills were decoration, memories and a contingency plan all in one.
“One of the things that my business partner had said in the past is, ‘If things ever went wrong, we have some money here. We can take care of the rainy day, I guess,'” said Novak, “so this was deemed the rainy day.”
When the restaurant opens up, the walls will be waiting for customers to leave their mark again.
“We’re hoping to get back on track, start up the dollars again as soon as we open,” said Sodre.
The owners did not specify the exact amount they took off the walls, but customers who pick up a takeout order can guess the amount for $1. The person with the closest guess will win a $100 Hott Leggz gift card.
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