Help Reunion-A Community Restaurant's Next Chapter

Reunion Restaurant is at a crossroads. Despite our best efforts, financial challenges have brought us to the brink of closure. We’re humbly asking for support to sustain our incredible team, pay local vendors, and honor the community we’ve built. Every contribution helps us navigate this uncertain chapter and dream of what’s next.

It is with heavy hearts that we share this news: Reunion Restaurant is facing an uncertain future, and closure seems like the most logical path forward.

Last week, our sales didn’t cover payroll. The week before, they barely did but couldn’t touch the stack of overdue invoices. A few months before that, we took out a loan just to pay backlogged sales tax, rent, utilities, and insurance.

A year ago, we sold our home in NC, giving us a financial cushion we promised not to use for our businesses. But we did—always holding onto the belief that financial stability was just within reach. Now, that safety net is gone, and we’ve taken on significant debt. You might call it foolish, careless, or irresponsible. Or you might see it as hopeful, imaginative, and rooted in belief—in our team, this community, and the potential we saw in both.

While we see closure as the most likely outcome, we are open to exploring creative solutions. Many have offered support, advice, and ideas, and we’re willing to consider any path that aligns with our values and could give Reunion a chance to thrive.

Our challenges are not unique. Like so many other small, values-driven restaurants, we’re facing the hard reality that it’s nearly impossible to sustain businesses that pay employees well, source high-quality food, and exist in small communities. This isn’t just about us; it’s about a bigger systemic problem. Why is it so incredibly difficult for businesses with heart, purpose, and a commitment to fairness to thrive?

Our country’s relationship with food—where it comes from, how it’s grown, how we value it—is deeply broken. Enormous corporations control our food systems, severing the connection between what we eat, who grows it, and how it reaches us. Convenience has replaced community. We shuffle through grocery aisles, drive-thrus, or shopping apps, disengaged from the farmers, restaurants, and people in our own rural communities. This trade-off has left us with Kwik Trips, Walmarts, and Dollar Generals making record profits, while local businesses that create jobs, culture, and connections struggle to survive.

If we could do it all over again, we would. Despite the heartbreak of this moment, we are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to serve this community, employ incredible people, and support local farmers. So many good memories were made here—so many delicious meals shared.

For now, our plan is to keep Reunion open through December, with our final night of service on New Year’s Eve—unless a new solution presents itself. During this time, we hope to generate enough revenue to ensure a smooth transition for our employees, pay our local vendors, and cover as much of our outstanding debt as possible. Any additional funds raised will be put toward whatever comes next—whether that’s a future venture or an opportunity to reimagine what Reunion could be.

We’ve also set up a donation page for those inclined to help. Why donate to a business that’s facing closure, you might ask? There’s something deeply uncomfortable—almost un-American—about publicly admitting failure and asking for help. But if we’ve learned anything in 2024, it’s that community, friends, and family are all we can truly rely on. Reunion has always been about people—about connection. Asking for help is humbling, but necessary. Your support, whether born from empathy, shared experience, or belief in what we’ve tried to build, will mean the world to us.

Kyle and I aren’t giving up on the River Valley. We’re not throwing in the towel—we’re recalibrating. This is a moment to reflect on the bigger questions: How do we create meaningful food experiences, support local producers, pay living wages, and run sustainable businesses in small communities? These are challenging and complicated questions, but they’re worth answering. Whatever we do next will aim to address them.

In the meantime, we invite you to join us at Reunion over the next few weeks. Let’s celebrate what we’ve built together. If you can, please consider donating (link in bio). Goodbyes are hard, but we feel a quiet hope—maybe even a little excitement—about what’s next.

Lastly, we would like to thank every single person who has ever worked for us, and especially at this moment we want to highlight our current 25 amazing staff members who will soon be seeking new opportunities. These individuals are some of the best we’ve ever worked with, and any business would be lucky to have them. Please reach out if you have job leads.

Thank you for believing in us, for showing up, and for being part of this journey. Your support has meant everything.

With heartfelt gratitude and love,

Leah & Kyle