Watch CBS News

Cafe Owner's Story Of Helping A Homeless Man Goes Viral

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A south Minneapolis cafe owner is getting national attention for how she treated a homeless man who walked into her business and asked for money.

"Why don't you have a job?" 25-year-old Cesia Abigail responded, according to a Facebook post that's been shared more than 39,000 times. "You know nothing is given to me for free, right?"

The man, whose name is Marcus, told Abigail that no one wants to hire him because he has felonies on his record. He said the only way he knows how to make a living is to ask for cash on the street, or steal it.

At that moment, Abigail offered Marcus a job. She said Marcus could wash dishes for a few hours.

"I'll do anything for food," Marcus responded.

He came in to the cafe one day asking me for some $$. I looked at him and asked him "why don't you have a job, you know...

Posted by Abis MN on Friday, March 25, 2016

---

Now for the last two weeks, Marcus has been showing up for his two-hour shift at Abi's Café in the Phillips neighborhood. Abigail told CBS News she plans to make Marcus' position permanent.

"Some restaurants wouldn't even let you use their restrooms," she told CBS. "I don't judge someone on how they look -- go use it. I do not treat [homeless people] any different."

Abigail's story received a huge amount of feedback on social media, generating more than 3,500 comments.

"That [story] just moved me to tears," wrote Jenniffer Burden on Facebook. "[My] dad was in the same position, same state, same town, Minneapolis Minnesota."

Still, others didn't agree with Abigail's decision to give a job to a felon. In response, the New Jersey-native the whole notion of "Minnesota Nice" in Facebook posts addressing her detractors.

According to CBS, Marcus has been living on the street since he was 16. He and Abigail are now working on a way to help him save money.

"Just like Marcus, I had my help," Abigail said. "I had plenty of people to help make it to where I am today. They believed I could do it. People need to have someone believe in them."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.