It's only fitting that we write this article on The Great American Takeout Tuesday. Restaurants across the nation have been affected by the coronavirus crisis and now more than ever, there's a need for people to support local businesses and their employees. This is a challenge considering companies have been forced to close their doors, workers have lost their jobs, and the uncertainty about finances is at the forefront of people's minds. The Bower Foundation quickly realized that action needed to be taken to assist the homeless and the unemployed while also supporting restaurants here in Manatee County. Three hundred and thirty three (333) vouchers were created and on Friday, March 27th they were distributed at Our Daily Bread of Bradenton, which is located at the One Stop Center. These vouchers are valid through April 4th and enable those in need to redeem it for a hot dog, chips, and drink at Willy-Yums, LLC. The Foundation stumbled upon this restaurant a few years ago when serving food to the homeless for a 4th of July event and reached out to see if they could provide a $3 meal for this new initiative. The Bower Foundation used donations to pay Willy-Yums for all of the meals and the restaurant was on board and eager to provide food to those in the community. Since the vouchers have been given out, Rob Williams, the owner, shared, "We've been open nearly 3 years and some of these guests have never even heard of us until they received the free meal card, so that's great that it has given us new people."
Willy-Yums has been Rob Williams' dream since he was in his late teens. He moved to the Bradenton area in 1994 with his wife. Although they love living in Florida, the couple came from Michigan and "being from the north where there's hotdog stands, carts or restaurants nearly everywhere, we realized there's not many here. And because there's so many people from the north here we thought there should be more." Rob Williams was particularly inspired by a hot dog stand in Michigan, near Flint, because it was a place where everyone gathered with friends and family after school and on the weekends. "The menu was on the window, a staff member would take your order at your car window or through a little sliding window at the counter and you sat in your car or at a picnic table and ate. Simple. I loved that place and it has always been my inspiration and dream to duplicate," he said. That is exactly what he did. In September of 2016, Rob Williams had a mild stroke and decided he needed to follow his heart and to pursue his dream. His wife quit her job of 18 years and Rob Williams also left his 15 year career in management to put all their efforts into establishing Willy-Yums, LLC.
June 1st will be the three year anniversary for the restaurant. When reflecting on his experiences, Rob Williams stated, "We love having the ability to help others and know we are doing what's right. We see daily the struggles that our community has and the people in it. We've had so many obstacles in our way since we opened and before, but we look forward to this anniversary and hope to have a party (perhaps a small one due to the current health circumstances) and share our accomplishments. We hope for many years more with growth. We thank everyone who has helped us and supported us these past years and look forward to our future."
Please check out Willy-Yums, located at 2003 14th St. West in Bradenton and check them out on Facebook too @willyyumshotdogs. The Bower Foundation is also seeking donations so that more vouchers can be given out and to create more partnerships with local restaurants so that they can make a profit during these difficult times. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 20411 Bradenton, FL 34204 OR can be made via Venmo - @Vince-Bower.