Like many Jaco businesses, Danny and Katie Clark decided to close the doors of their popular restaurant, Graffiti Restro Cafe and Bar on March 20, for the safety and well being of the community and their families. One of their greatest concerns though was that of the entire staff who many have been working for them for over 10 years. Sadly, like many others at this time they have no income and have no way of paying their staff as long they remained closed. So they decided to do what they can to find some resources and help in this stressful time. Recently Danny and Katie put together a fundraiser campaign where they are raising money to help of their laid off staff.
I asked Katie how their staff was holding up and what are they doing to get by? Katie responded, “Our team is doing what I think most are doing right now. They are being conscious of their consumption. They are planting gardens and doing their best to stay positive. They are helping out those that are less fortunate than themselves in the community. We are all in touch with one another and bouncing ideas off one another to come up with a plan on how to sustain and how to move forward together.” And how are you as a restaurant owner trying to adapt and survive? “Adaptation to these new times means reduction in our physical foot print, said Katie. “We will reduce the size of our restaurant with less seating. We will also be reducing our menu. In many ways we will be returning to our original business model. We have always focused on quality and cleanliness and that will only increase going forward. We will be implementing a new Sanitation Welcome Station at the entrance of our venue to ensure the safety of our patrons and staff. We are negotiating with our purveyors to lower the cost of our products so that we in turn are able to lower the cost to our consumers. We will be encouraging our Private Chef Cervices for larger groups off site and will begin a “Graffiti at Home” Packaged Family Style Dinner Service for those that wish to stay in.”
Their Staff Relief Fund will last for 3 months total. In which they have expressed how grateful they are for those who are able to help support their team and their families while our doors remain closed and are looking forward to serving their food to their customers very soon.