Help Sugarcane Recover After Burglary

Update: 21 Jan - we’ve hit our £5k target in a week! After smashing through £1k and £2k, this feels amazing. Thank you to the community that have helped me keep T going, he has enough to fully cover the cost of new shutters. I’ve had lots of messages asking whether we will keep it open, so I will close it on 01 Feb but accept donations until then. Any extra penny will go towards helping T rebuild his savings and the general running costs of Sugarcane. Thank you!

Hi there! I’m Serena and I’m starting a GoFundMe for Sugarcane, our community Caribbean restaurant in Clapham, because Chef T is too humble to do it himself.

 

Chef T opened Sugarcane during the first lockdown, with no investment funds and little money in his pocket. I live nearby and used to walk past him painting the chairs and making the signs for his restaurant on my daily walk, and we struck up a friendship. Somehow, he has kept going through multiple tiers and lockdowns, and has brought some sunshine to a worn down corner of a busy road which sorely needed it.

 

Not only are his wraps and puddings to die for (try the disaranno bread and butter pudding), but he puts out so much good into the world and into our community. He employs care leavers and spends time delivering food to food banks as well, plus using local suppliers and sustainable packaging as much as he can. This is a business you want to have around!

 

Unfortunately, on Tuesday 11 January 2022, Sugarcane was broken into. Somebody smashed a window, climbed in, and stole food, alcohol, stock, smashed a microwave and an oven, broke a fridge, and stole all of the money from the till along with a laptop. Luckily, T is insured, but after a Christmas where bookings were cancelled, and in a quiet month of the year, this is a lot for a business to take on. The insurance has covered some of the expense, so he’s been able to restock and fix his kitchen, but he’s needed to pay for the window repair out of pocket. His shutter also broke, which the insurance won’t cover, and he’s looking at a bill of several thousand to sort it out - money he just doesn’t have. In total, including lost income from being forced to close during parts of December and as a result of the burglary, he’s facing a total cost of up to 15K.

 

I’ve set up this GoFundMe for anyone who wants to put any money towards a new laptop, new shutters, or just to show T and his team some appreciation for what they’ve brought to the area. Even if it’s a fiver, everything helps. It cost £800 alone for the glass to get fixed. In typical fashion, he isn’t expecting any donations, and it would be nice to show him that we care!

Thank you all.

 

 

 

 

Find Sugarcane at:

@sugarcanelondon on Instagram

https://www.sugarcanelondon.com