Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in September 2016.
Lake Fork, the East Texas reservoir 65 miles east of Dallas, is well known for its big bass, and not much else.
However, a small convenience store in the area is generating its own buzz.
Star Mart, owned by Frank Hemani, a self proclaimed “people person,” is located on Farm Road 515 between the lake and Emory. The store mainly caters to locals and anglers looking for a record catch on Lake Fork.
Photo Credit: The Sun News
The store is nondescript, with nothing out of the ordinary until you get to the sign on a refrigerator window near the milk.
The sign reads: “If you don’t have money or a job you can have a sandwich and a bottle of water for free.”
Frank stated that he saw people in the area struggling to get by and decided to try and help out. He stated that he gives out about 6 sandwiches on a weekly basis.
Photo Credit: The Sun News
He added that he recently saw a woman with two kids in the backseat drive to the store. The kids were hungry and crying, but the woman had no money to buy food for the children.
Frank made them a pizza, and said of his kindness: “I have been blessed. I have never had to struggle.”
He stated that he got the idea when he watched a YouTube video in which a grocery store was making a similar offer. When he looked into it further, he found that “there are a lot of people out there that will help other people.”
Photo Credit: The Sun News
He started paying it forward, and the sign has been up for about two months.
Frank stated that he has lived in the community for 10 years and “pretty much everybody knows everybody.”
He is the owner of three businesses in the area, including Minnow Bucket Marina near Quitman.