For three hours last week, customers at Carver Brewing Co. were treated to free meals thanks to a La Plata County woman who wanted to give her fellow Southwest Colorado residents a financial break.
After eating breakfast, Jessica Rollins went to the bar and purchased a $1,000 gift card and asked the staff to use it to pay for the next $1,000 worth of meals from customers who walked through the doors at one of Durango’s most popular restaurants.
Jack Burke, who was tending bar at the time, said he was initially confused by Rollins’ request.
“I had to grab a manager and ask how to do it (ring up a $1,000 gift card),” he said. “I was a little confused, and I had to clarify with her, a thousand dollars, a full thousand U.S. dollars?” Burke said.
Dasha Greidanus, assistant general manager at Carver’s, said the confusion carried forward to customers, many of whom insisted on paying for their meals and had to be reassured that a patron had come in earlier and bought meals for the next $1,000 worth of tickets.
“There was a lot of shock, a lot of disbelief,” Greidanus said. “A lot of people left larger tips. So, in a way, she paid it forward for our customers and our staff.”
Rollins said she was driven to make the donation by her strong Christian faith.
“The Bible says: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” she said.
Rollins, who has lived in Durango since 1984, when she was a 5-year-old, said she has been receiving money since she turned 20 from a malpractice settlement.
When she was 8½ years old, she said she was left in a coma for 10 months after a doctor used a cerebral shunt meant for an adult on her. The procedure led to her time in a coma.
As a result of her coma, Rollins said she’s endured 20 additional surgeries and still suffers seizures that have resulted from the use of the improper shunt.
“I had to relearn how to walk, talk and cry. I had to re-do fourth grade. I’ve lived through trials the size of Mount Everest in my life,” she said.
Now, Rollins said she is in better shape emotionally, spiritually and physically than at any time in her life, and she wanted to help others.
“Carver’s is one of my top favorite places to eat at. I love the food and the service, and I also love the people of Durango, and I wanted to help them out a bit financially by not having them pay for a meal,” she said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
