Joe Faillace opened Old Station Sub Shop in Phoenix back in 1986. But earlier this year he was worried the end of his decade long run was near thanks to a massive homeless camp which had grown up all around him.
It was called The Zone and at one time as many as 1,100 people were living there in tents, many of them drug addicts. Joe went from making subs to becoming an unpaid social worker. The NY Times wrote about The Zone back in March.
…there were hundreds of people sleeping within a few blocks of Old Station, most of them suffering from mental illness or substance abuse as they lived out their private lives within public view of the restaurant. They slept on Joe and Debbie’s outdoor tables, defecated behind their back porch, smoked methamphetamine in their parking lot, washed clothes in their bathroom sink, pilfered bread and gallon jars of pickles from their delivery…
