Help! Cafe on the Corner come back, water damage.

Hi, my name is Lateresa Blackwell, co-owner of Cafe on the Corner, a stapler business in our community that has given back to our community in many ways. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we took our once-dine-in facility and turned it into a mass meal distribution center to FEED our community over 250 FREE lunches daily, we had the awesome opportunity to hire community members who were affected by the pandemic and put them to work. Cafe on the Corner is a small black-owned residential community business depending on its community for support, a business known as the "House of Pittsburgh's Famous Got Gumbo" we have endured the pandemic, and we persevered the struggle to keep the doors open. As a small business, we already face struggles to stay afloat financially without a pandemic but you add in the pandemic magnifies our struggles. Now faced with another pandemic of massive water damage due to weather conditions of minus zero weather conditions causing pipes to freeze which in turn causes the business again to face a decision of keeping the doors open or not. The doors are closed due to water damage, and a lack of resources to operate the business. With limited resources, we are faced with a decision to keep our small, but necessary business open not for our self-ambition but for our community. We hear our community cheering for Cafe on the Corner to stay open, asking us to please don't close your doors, we need you guys.

We are proud of our community, and the folks we serve, we have given away over one hundred toys to children for the last five years to unfortunate children, we train at-risk youth in the field of hospitality through our non-profit organization, annually we run a trunk-or-treat activity for our children to keep them safe, we have hosted an annual community unity day for peace in the streets with our local Police to break down barriers between our police and the community. As you can see Cafe on the Corner is not just a restaurant but a stapler of support in our community. We have been open since 2014, and have pressed our way through many obstacles. We have come to another crossroads, and need your help. Please help us keep our doors open by helping us restore the damages that have incurred a large price tag too harsh for a small business to hurdle. With your support Cafe on the Corner will give a gift of a signed got gumbo t-shirt from Chef Michael Blackwell. Will you help us rebuild?