Lee says one of his favorite parts of working in the shop is getting to know his customers. And he’s done his share of community outreach too.
About 15 years ago, for example, Lee started opening his restaurant to neighborhood children, some from less than ideal homes, as a place to come after school. He tells the Jackson Free Press:
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“I had the place full of kids, and we would get their homework done together, and I’d check it. I knew all their teachers — I was the one who had conferences with their teachers.”
One of these children that tugged at his heartstrings was a 5 year-old boy who was often left to fend for himself. Lee says the children who came into the restaurant were treated as though they were his own. In fact, one of the girls he tutored in childhood now works for the Big Apple Inn, and has for almost 16 years.
So the restaurant, like it’s now iconic if unusual sandwich, has certainly made itself a part of the community.