Sweet As Cyn Coffee House and Donuts was filled with generosity Friday morning after a wave of local businesses came together to surprise customers with free coffee and pastries.
The chain reaction began the night before, when Josh Hubbard, owner of Hubbard Electrical Contracting, was scrolling on Facebook in bed. He saw Sweet As Cyn’s Facebook post about Friday’s coffee menu. After asking his wife the price of a cup of coffee, he decided to donate $100 to Sweet As Cyn, paying it forward to customers. After making his own post, other local businesses joined in and donated $100 as well.
“That’s what Nassau County was raised on, trying to give back and support local,” Hubbard said.
By Friday morning, Sweet As Cyn had received $100 donations from 15 local businesses, and the coffee shop added $100.
The store opened at 6 a.m. and by almost 9 a.m. all $1,600 had been spent. Customers were delighted by the gift and showed extra appreciation to the staff as a result.
“It was really cool to see people getting blessed, but my employees were also blessed for it too. Everybody was dropping fives, 10s, and 20s in the tip jar,” said Sweet as Cyn Co-Owner Haley Glisson.
In addition to Hubbard Electrical Contracting, the $100 donors included Triple B Dirt, Florida Coastal Construction and Roofing, Huggins and Vanzant Insurance, Realtor Seth Baldwin, Watkins Coastal Plumbing, Steel Magnolias Cleaning, Glisson Lawn Care and More, Affordable Glass and Mirror, Dream Lights of Florida, Homerun Interior and Exterior Services of Jax, MVP Contracting, Realtor Tina Haddock, Southern Atlantic Electric, MD Towing, and Sweet As Cyn.
This sweet gesture is the first of many for Hubbard. He plans to bless other local businesses as well as local children in need. He and others are hosting the fifth annual Shoot with Santa Dec. 13 at 12125 New Berlin Road, Jacksonville. During the friendly skeet shooting competition, money is raised for kids in need in West Nassau County.
“We raised a little over $20,000 last year that we gave back to Nassau County schools,” said Hubbard.
For more information about the skeet shoot, visit https://tinyurl.com/skeetwithsanta to access the Annual Skeet Shoot with Santa Facebook page.