Steakhouse Servers Struggle To Survive After Fire Wipes Out BK Eatery
BROOKLYN, NY —After a fire destroyed Williamsburg’s beloved steakhouse St. Anselm this month, its longtime waitstaff have turned to crowdfunding on GoFundMe to make ends meet.
As of Monday, the group had raised $4,090 of its $20,000 goal to support the 31 non-salaried staff members who are now out of work and struggling to make ends meet.
“It is absolutely not news that restaurant workers, particularly kitchen workers, are severely underpaid – these folks will be in trouble not months from now, but in weeks,” the message on the GoFundMe page, written by former St. Anslem server Mallary Santucci, said.
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The fire claimed the basement of the restaurant, which is located at 355 Metropolitan Ave., early in the morning on Sept. 11, longtime St. Anselm server Jeremy Sarver told Patch.
The cleaning crew called 911 and the fire was put out in less than an hour, ultimately saving the building structure, Sarver said. No one was hurt in the fire, according to the fundraiser page.
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“There’s been a lot of outreach,” Sarver, who lives in Bushwick, said. “We’ve had regular guests contacting us, old staff members contacting us, seeing how everything’s doing, you know? There’s a good, supportive community.”
It is still being determined when the restaurant will reopen for business.
For more information or to donate to the fundraiser, click here.
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