The Daily Grind Espresso Café has been garnering donations for the last 104 days thanks to generous customers who pay their purhcases forward in the hopes that others will do the same. Owners say well over $10,000 have been collected to keep the spirit of that first donation alive.
“I didn’t project, I was just excited to see it go one more day and see who else would do it,” said Anita White, a Stillwater realtor and frequent Daily Grind customer. White left the first pay it forward donation of $100 just as COVID-19 hit Minnesota.
“I’m like, 'How can I get people in that store? How can I get people to just go and get a coffee,'” White said. “I’m like, 'People like free stuff, right?'” She then challenged others to follow her lead and pay it forward when they visited the Daily Grind.
“It’s our community wrapping their arms around us in a sense and each other, they are buying it for others,” said co-owner Megan Palm. “It means the act of kindness is still alive.”