Coronavirus Pandemic Has Changed Brad Paisley’s Plans for Free Grocery Store
When Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley finally opened up their nonprofit venture The Store in March, they had no idea how much it would help the less fortunate of Nashville.
Or maybe they did, but not like this.
Shortly after the store opened, a devastating tornado hit Music City. Just days after the destruction, the coronavirus pandemic hit Nashville, too. Now that many people are without jobs, without pay and without ways to feed their families, each week, the Paisleys have spun their plans to assist in times of need.
"We are already seeing three times what we expected right away," Paisley told Today's Hoda Kotb on Monday morning (April 20). "We thought we would soft roll this thing out, have a slow build to what we would become and ll of a sudden we are thrown into the fire. But it's really going well so far, knock on wood."
Coronavirus (COVID-19) especially has changed the map of what the Store is and its importance to the local community.
“We had about a week of where we were operating as we expected in March, and then here we are opening something like this when basically all hell breaks loose," Paisley explains. Last month the Store began delivering food to senior citizens during the pandemic. Seniors are considered to be at a higher risk, should they catch the virus.
During the same Today appearance, Paisley also spoke about popping into Zoom meetings with fans and performed his new song "No I in Beer" remotely.
"People are utilizing this time to connect and to feel solidarity as human beings," the singer says of the song, which he wrote in 2018 with fellow songwriter Kelley Lovelace. "This song wasn’t written for this specific moment we are all facing, but it takes on a new meaning for me when I hear it now."
See Pictures of Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams-Paisley's Store Construction: