Houston furniture magnate Mattress Mack has generously opened his furniture warehouse to hurricane refugees in Houston this week.
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Jim McIngvale, or as Houstonians call him, Mattress Mack, is known for his loud, auctioneer style advertisements for his furniture warehouse, Gallery Furniture. But he's also known for his big heart.
Many people fled from the rising flood waters that inundated the city after Hurricane Harvey made its way up the Texas coast. After escaping the flood, there was nowhere to go. So McIngvale opened the doors to two of his warehouses to house and feed desperate Houstonians.
Our GF N FWRY & GF Grand PKWY stores are open for those in need. If you can safely join us, we invite you for shelter and food. God Bless. pic.twitter.com/IHHgjKmjMY
— @MattressMack (@MattressMack) August 28, 2017
"I'm part capitalist and part social worker and this is what I like to do," Mack told CBS News.
Refugees have access to beds and restroom facilities, as well as three meals a day. It's not a small contribution. Mack estimates costs between $30,000 to $40,000 per day to keep the store open, but it's worth it to him.
"We can afford that and what we can't afford is to cause these people to lose hope, we got to give them hope," he said. "This is what my parents would have done."
McIngvale is a beloved Houston character and philanthropist. This is not the first time he has opened his store to hurricane victims. He took in about 200 refugees from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He also gives away furniture every year to needy families and donates to schools.
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The move comes just days before the Labor Day weekend, an important time for sales in the furniture industry."We're going to keep these folks here for as long as they need to be here," Mack said. "They may be here three days, they may be here seven, who knows. We're here to help and that's what we do, that's who we are."
