Georgia restaurant owner sells car to have enough money to pay her employees

SMYRNA, Ga. (FOX 5) -- A Smyrna restaurant owner has been making great sacrifices to stay open. She even sold her car so she could pay her employees.

Vittles Restaurant is a fixture in Smyrna. It's been serving good old southern food for more than three decades.

Charity Salyers bought the place last year.  She says things were just picking up when the pandemic hit. Like all restaurants, she was forced to close her doors.

"I've had to cut my staff back from 10 to 12 people per day to 2 people plus me," said Salyers.

Her loyal customers urged her to do curbside pick up.

"A lot of our clients are elderly, they come every day, sometimes twice a day, and they depend on us," said Salyers.

"She's not trying to make money because this restaurant is not making money, she just cares that much," said Stacy Wingard, an employee.

Salyers even keeps masks and rolls of toilet paper on hand in case anyone driving through needs some.

But sales are way down.  Salyers says she didn't have the money to pay her employees, but she couldn't let them go hungry.

"I was kind of stuck against a wall so I prayed about it and then went and sold my car,"  said Salyers. "It was a Mustang GT 5.0, a very nice candy apple red."

Salyers says she got enough money to carry her through a month or so.  Enough to give her employees a little cash and make sure her bills are paid.

"When she came back after selling her car I think I cried and she didn't. She said 'Stacy I had to, I have to make sure everybody is good'," said Wingard.

Now Salyers says she's just hoping things get back to business as usual soon.

"I just pray that something happens soon and we can reopen society," said Salyers.