Community rallies around stricken restaurant owner | Business

SALISBURY -  Some of the workers at one restaurant in Salisbury aren't getting paid for their work, and they aren't keeping any tips, either. So why aren't they upset about this and why do they keep coming back?

It's all about friends helping friends, and with the restaurant owner in critical condition in an out of town hospital, friends and neighbors decided to step up.

You might forgive Linda Thompson for not knowing how to find a knife, or just not being too certain about where anything is at the Blue Vine restaurant in Salisbury.

"I'm not a waitress," Thompson said with a laugh.  "I'm just doing it to help out Rose, I'm not taking any tips, no money..."

Linda is a volunteer, like many others, including customers, who are helping to keep this restaurant alive.

"I like the people that come in and I like the people that own it," said customer Becky Crayton.

The people who own it are Rose Meeks Jones and Chris Jones. Chris has been in critical condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical center for nearly two weeks, suffering from heart failure.

"I am back at Chris' bedside," Rose Meeks Jones wrote in a recent post to update friends about Chris.  "He now has 3 chest tubes in his right lung. He opened his eyes for me and I told him I loved him and that he is not alone. When I asked if he was afraid, he shook his head, "no". When I asked if he was tired he nodded. I explained simply what was going on...that his lungs were very sick and that he needs the tube down his throat to help him breathe while his lungs heal."

With so much to deal with, the last thing the couple needed to worry about was how to keep the doors open at their downtown Salisbury restaurant, and that's where people like Linda come in.

"I'm just trying to help a good friend who was very good to me one time when I had a health issue. Chris was very nice, he brought me soup every week, whatever I wanted, wouldn't take any money, so I feel like I owe them the same courtesy," Thompson told WBTV.

So volunteers are putting up their time and money, and Rose even manages to make appeals through email and social media, and so far, it's working.

"It's fantastic, Salisbury people are wonderful," added Crayton.

There is also a two night fund raiser planned for this Friday and Saturday night. The restaurant will host the "Keep The Vine Alive for Chris" Concert from 9 to midnight each night.  The Blue vine is located at 209 S. Main St. in Salisbury.