SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Despite not paying a dime, 18-year-old LaFonzo Ross is a proud new owner of a Sacramento Thrift Store on Broadway.

He didn’t win it in a contest or inherit it from a loved one. He earned it with hard work and persistence.

Former owner Jonelle Ramos says he came to her after she put the store up for sale.

“He begged,” Jonelle tells CBS 13. “He said please–think about me–think about what I can do–think about what I’m doing.”

What he was doing was working non-stop on improving the store and learning the ropes. After weeks of asking, even after Jonelle had a cash-buyer lined up, she said yes to his request.

LaFonzo, however, had to move quickly to prove he was up for the challenge.

“I had half a month to get everything together,” LaFonzo tells us, “to get my business license, to get my second-hand dealers permit.”

And to put up his new sign: Fonzie’s Thrift. It’s right in front of Janelle’s new business venture, Rose-sted Coffee on Broadway in Sacramento.

We asked LaFonzo if the kind gesture even seems real.

“I feel like it’s real now,” the 18-year-old went on to say, “Ever since I’ve started changing a bunch of stuff, I walk in and I’m like wow–this is..this is all me.”