COLUMBIA, S.C. — The grand opening of the Sunrise Café on Main Street took place Tuesday, but this was no ordinary restaurant opening.
Jonny Davis, a veteran who was once homeless, found a way to turn his life around and now owns the restaurant. His goal: Giving unsheltered citizens a job and a chance to get one step closer towards independent living.
“I want them to understand, I've been where they've been…. give somebody a chance,” Davis said teary eyed during the grand opening.
Davis said he's been unsheltered, in jail, and an addict at times in his life but found a way out when given the chance of employment, and wants to pay it forward.
“When the homeless guys come by here and they stop in, I say come to work the next morning," Davis explained. 'I don't care where they came from. If you want a job and you want to work, I want to hire you,”
Tiffany Turner is not currently homeless but is recently employed by Davis and his wife. She says she admires the chances they are willing to take on those needing another shot at employment.
“Other people need to do the same as Mr. and Mrs. Davis, give people a chance," Turner said. "You never know when someone needs that second chance.”
When homeless, Davis started using drugs and although it is something he looks back on with regret, he wouldn't change the outcome for anything else.
“I got myself caught up in it and I'm not ashamed of it, it just made me better. And I'm not proud of what I have done but I thank my creator for taking me through it,” Davis said.
Cooking and feeding others brings Davis joy but giving them a chance at a new life brings him hope.
“We go and we forget about people sometimes, but at the end of the day let's reach out and help people”...“The people that are unsheltered that I've hired, people from the halfway house, people who have had difficulty but are employed and I am trying to help them,” Davis concluded.
Located in downtown Columbia at 1801 Main Street, the restaurant is officially open for business and is serving breakfast items all day long.