Homeless Panhandler Goes Into Cafe, Gets Job Instead of Spare Change

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...

(INSIDE EDITION) A homeless man in Minnesota walked into a restaurant looking for a handout and instead got a hand up.

"Why don't you have a job? You know nothing is given to me for free, right?" Cesia Abigail, the owner of Abi's Cafe, told him.

The man looked down and sheepishly replied, "Well, I have a lot of felonies and no one wants to hire me for that. So, now I had to turn myself to the streets and get money the only way I know - stealing and asking for money," the man named Marty told her, she recounted on Facebook.

So the 25-year-old business owner, whose restaurant isn't exactly doing gangbusters, told him he could have a job, if he wanted. And she put him to work washing dishes.

That was just fine by him. "I will do anything for food," he said.

As he scrubbed plates and pans, she made him a sandwich. He took half of it outside to give to another homeless man.

So everyday for the past two weeks, he shows up, ties on an apron and digs into soapy water. Then he digs into a meal.

It makes no difference to Abigail what he's done in the past. As long as he shows up on time and does his work, he's welcome.

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

She put a photo of Marcus, and a bit of his story, on Facebook, and the response has been overwhelming. The post has been shared more 33,000 times and received more than 100,000 views.

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