By Neil Doyle
NORMAL – Fort Jesse Cafe in Normal decided to close its doors until further notice because of the coronavirus, but the restaurant has come up with an idea to help out its staff during this time.
The Fort Jesse Cafe Employee Emergency Relief Fund was created this week on GoFundMe.
“We will match all donations, dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000,” according to the GoFundMe. “Every dollar counts, no donation is too small.”
“When you have to shut down like this and we aren’t sure how long it’s going to last our main concern is how our staff is going to get through this,” said Nick Birky, general manager at Fort Jesse Cafe.
“I understand this is not a huge contribution and we aren’t going to be able to change anybody’s life, but we just want people to be able to survive during the time being,” said Birky.
With about 30 people working at the restaurant, Birky said the entire staff is like a family and a big reason for the success of Fort Jesse Cafe.
“I think a lot of people were really touched by this and even more touched by our customers who have reached out,” he said.
As of Tuesday, $7,375 has been raised on the GoFundMe page. The link to donate is here.
Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]
