Rams' Andrew Whitworth steps in to help keep L.A-area family restaurant afloat amid COVID crisis
The restaurant business is one of the hardest hit by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a Los Angeles-area favorite on the brink, Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth has decided to step in. The Rams announced on Wednesday that Whitworth and his wife Melissa are donating $50,000 to help save Inglewood’s The Serving Spoon. Inglewood is home to the Rams and the new SoFi Stadium.
The Whitworths responded after The Serving Spoon’s owner Angela Johnson made a plea and a GoFundMe page seeking $75,000 to keep the doors open and the restaurant’s staff paid.
‘Our costs keep rising’
“We are no longer allowed to embrace our customers, nor sit down with them while they eat and check in on how they're doing, find out about what's happening in their lives,” Johnson wrote. ... “Our costs keep rising even during these times, but we refuse to raise our prices by passing on that cost to our customers.
“However, we still have to pay our staff and all the other expenses that do not stop such as utilities, vendors, taxes, etc. We have staff members that have spouses who have lost their jobs as well, which means that they only have one income and are depending on our employee to stay employed.”
As of Wednesday evening, the GoFundme account had raised more than $35,000, meaning the donation from the Whithworths put the campaign past its goal.
No relief in sight for many businesses
With the coronavirus making it unsafe for people to gather indoors, family favorites and staples of big cities and small towns like The Serving Spoon are calling it quits or are at risk of running out out of business.
An ongoing stalemate in Washington over COVID financial relief is exacerbating an already difficult situation for small businesses as they cope with lockdowns put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In lieu of their normal revenue or government assistance, many of these businesses are left to look to their communities to help keep afloat. The Whitworths have ensured that The Serving Spoon gets a much-needed lifeline.
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