Smokestreet of Milford (covid)Employee Relief Fund

To our valued tight knit community of Milford, we are reaching out in this time of national crisis.  

As the COVID-19 health crisis continues, our full time servers/bartenders at Smokestreet are now dealing with the economic hardship.

 As of Monday, effective immediately, March 16, 2020 through April 13, 2020, our Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, has instructed the restaurants to shift our services to take-out only. And this is just the first stage before the possibility of complete shutdown of all restaurant services!  This has resulted in patronage plummeting and Full time servers/bartenders hours to be non existent.  

Now currently all of our service staff is unemployed.  Majority of the staff does not have health insurance, paid sick time, paid vacation leave, and child care (now that schools are closed). All of us dedicated workers completely rely on tips/gratuities from customers to pay leases/mortgages, utilities, schooling, car notes, child care, etc, it is the only income that goes to cover our living expenses. Our pay rate per hour for the majority of hospitality workers is less than half of the minimum wage rate per hour.

Unemployment would be an option, if you are even lucky enough to get threw the online/phone system, which is currently being bombarded from the entire state of Michigan’s hospitality industry. And the amount distributed would be less than a quarter of your weekly earnings.  You can now feel the devastating effect this will have on our lives and the future a head. When and if restaurants are reopened at the earliest, all of us will have monthly rent/mortgage due along with other bills, putting most of us into a negative deficit.

We are asking and hoping in the midst of this national crisis you remember your favorite friendly server/bartender, who entertained you alongside the delicious smoked meats and tasty cocktails, with a “Virtual Tip.” 

We sure do miss all the friendly faces and entertainment you all shared with us, as well. Taking this precautionary step will hopefully help save all of our families lives. We now need your help to care for our work families lives. Anything, as much as a “share”, helps drastically. This is a very heartbreaking moment in all of our lives and wish everyone health and happiness during this devastating time.
(All Full time server/bar staff staff will split the total amount donated/raised equally and apply it to living expenses.) *full time constituted as working 25 hours a week or more.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes! We look forward to servicing our Milford village friends and family soon! 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”  -Mother Teresa.