Cafe Renata owners, Yasser Aiq and Kate Steenstra, at the cafe (archive photo, West Philly Local).
As many of you know, an overnight fire destroyed Café Renata at 43rd and Locust and injured a neighbor last Thursday. Café Renata co-owners, Kate Steenstra and Yasser Aiq, are safe, but heartbroken over the fire and are still assessing the damage. A lot of support has poured in to them from the community members, which Katie and Yasser are very grateful for.
“Our neighbors and friends have been so supportive of us during all of this and we are so grateful for their encouragement and hugs. We are lucky to be part of such a loving community,” Katie wrote in an email.
While it is still unknown when the popular Spruce Hill coffee and brunch shop will reopen here’s some encouraging news from Katie:
“After taking a few days of reflection Yasser and I would like to tell our friends and customers that we are so encouraged by their support and love the past few days. Without them, Renata would never have been the vibrant café it was. We are looking forward to your continued support during our rebuilding efforts. We will be back!”
If you would like to support Katie and Yasser, visit Cafe Renata’s Facebook page and leave a message. We’re also sharing information about a fundraiser for Café Renata this Thursday, March 19, at The Bar(n) (49th and Catharine) in Cedar Park. The Barn and Wyndridge Farms are teaming up for the Café Renata Tap Takeover Fundraiser where Wyndridge Farms brew will be hooked up to all four of The Barn’s taps. Admission fee is $10 at the door, but guests will get their first brew for free. All drafts will be $3. All of the door and draft proceeds will go to the owners of Café Renata. The event will take place from 6 p.m. – 2 a.m. Check The Barn’s Facebook page for updates.
March 17th, 2015 at 10:52 am
Don’t they have insurance? I think that’s important for them to disclose. If their policy doesn’t cover this kind of damage, that’s one thing; but if it does, it seems problematic to hold a fundraiser for a for-profit business, IMHO.
(Also, if they did not have insurance coverage for this loss but could have and decided against it, then it could be argued that it would be unfair to request the community to bear some of the cost of their decision.)
March 17th, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Dave,
Whether or not they had insurance is besides the point. If they did there will still be considerable out of pocket expenses. The point is that we are trying to stand with members of the community and try to make the best of a bad situation. We are trying our hardest as they did every day. Hope to see you all Thursday. Thank you for your support!
March 17th, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Hey, I understand. And I definitely didn’t mean to sound like I was not fully in favor of supporting the community or local small businesses or anything like that, so I apologize if it came off that way.
But what if insurance does cover everything? I don’t know anything about insuring a food service business, but for residential rental properties, insurance coverage for a loss can extend to the costs of rebuilding and even lost revenue from rents. Without knowing more, I just don’t think we can assume that there will be considerable out-of-pocket expenses. (So respectfully, I think insurance is not besides the point, because if they had total coverage for their loss, then they would be receiving a boon from the fundraiser and people might be donating under a mistaken premise. To be clear: I am not at all suggesting that’s the case; I have no idea. I just suggested it might be helpful to know about this. I really do hope they are covered, and I hope they are made completely whole and can get back up and running ASAP.)