By Emmanuel Espinal
April 29, 2020
Chef Anthony Miranda and Kelvin Blanco at Barchaa
This March 25, Kelvin Blanco, CEO/President of the restaurant Barchaa created a Go Fund Me account to help the employees he had to send home due to the quarantine of the city of New York. He made the account before the government had approved the first stimulus package and did so to help raise funds to provide financial support to his employees. On the Go Fund Me account he states:
« My name is Kelvin Blanco CEO/President of Barchaa Peruvian Fusion Cuisine, all of my employees are all laid off due to the Pandemic of Corona virus. I am trying to raise some money to help them and their families in this horrible situation we are all facing and because right now I am their only hope on getting some financial relief. Apparently the only ones that will benefit from the 2 trillion dollar the government has approved are large corporations and the MTA/NYC Transit. Small business have absolutely no help from the government we are the minority and the ones who have always and will suffer the most.
This support will mean so much, not just to me but to my entire staff. I am honored and grateful to be able to put this together for them.
Thank you in advance for your kind help and support. #HELPSMALLBUSINESS»
Seeing the nice gesture that he made and that is not very common, we decided to interview him to see what the actual state of small business is. We ask that if you can contribute to the, even if it is a minor one, please do no matter how small it is as it will help people who really need it. You can donate by clicking here.
New Barchaa Margaritas to go
In our places of employment, we all become family as we spend more time together than we do with our own family members. How many employees, that are really family members, did you have to lay off? What were there positions within the restaurant?
There were 18 employees that were laid off between chefs, dishwashers, waitresses and bartenders.
Have any of your employees been affected directly with family members testing positive that you know of?
Thanks to God none of our employees have been victim to the virus. Some of their family members have been infected but none have died.
How did you come to the decision of making the Go Fund Me account?
Well this was something that I did to help my employees, especially the ones that have children and depend on their weekly salaries to take groceries to their kids. I made the decision once I saw that I would have to extend the restaurant closure more than 3 weeks. Thanks to God we are now open but with only 3-4 employees.
New Barchaa Oreo Frappe
What has been the remedy that the federal and state governments have given you?
In reality the government has not given us the minority or small businesses and type of financial help. Some of the resources such as “Paycheck Protection Program” have already run out of funds and none of us small business owning friends have been able to obtain this benefit. The large corporations and the ones who have the power have exhausted the funds.
Will Barchaa continue to be open for pickup and deliveries?
Yes! We have been open since Tuesday the 14th, from 12pm-9pm 7 days a week in conjunction with Ubereats, Grubhub and Doordash. Pick up orders can also be made by calling 347-405-6745.
What has been the community’s response?
Well here in East Williamsburg or Bushwick and all New York this has been a Third World War. Everyone is still in a state of panic and trying to survive with the little that they have.
Any message you might have…
This has been a lesson for many. That this is a time to start protecting our planet; we are responsible for taking care of each other and conserve nature, our forests, rivers, the air and the animals. Life continues and that God knows the purpose of why he does things. When you wake up in the morning think of the privilege that it is to be alive, breath and to be able to hug your kids and family, to be able to love and to continue on no matter what has happened in the past in your life. You only live once –take advantage of it-
__________
Related:
Kelvin Blanco de Barchaa busca ayudar sus empleados con cuenta Go Fund Me
Barchaa: Restaurante Latin fusion abre en Bushwick