Andover Subway employee serves kindness, community reciprocates efforts

ANDOVER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Lorene Gronskei has worked at a Subway restaurant inside the Andover Walmart for more than six years, but to her the job was about making sandwiches – it’s always been about making people happy.

"I never looked at it as being a big thing, it’s just me, that’s the way I am," Gronskei told FOX 9 on Tuesday.

On a recent Friday, Joanna Fliegelman watched as Lorene gifted her son a free drink and a stuffed animal, "I found out later that these things she’s giving out she is paying for out of her own money," Fliegelman said.

Fliegelman also overheard Lorene tell someone that she doesn’t have a car and relies on rides to get to and from work and doctor’s appointments. That touched her so much that she wrote about it online, and says soon hundreds in Andover started sharing similar stories about their experiences with Lorene.

This week, those community members backed up their sentiments up with a fundraiser to pay for repairs on Lorene’s car.

"This is a very big surprise. This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life," Gronskei said after receiving a check. "$4,213… thank you, thank you, thank you."

"All I’ve ever wanted in life, when I go out of this world, I want people to remember Lorene Gronskei was a very loving, caring person," Gronskei finished.