Members of the Old South and café communities in London, Ont., have quickly banded together to provide a way for people to support Black Walnut café following a blaze that destroyed its Wortley Village location over the weekend.
London police announced Tuesday that a 20-year-old man had been arrested and charged with two counts of arson in connection with Sunday’s fire at 132 Wortley Rd., which caused $2 million in damage.
“(It) left literally and figuratively a hole in the heart of Wortley Village,” Ian Sterling Leishman with the Old South Business Association said Wednesday.
“If it was possible for the whole Old South community to come together and rebuild that coffee shop in one day from volunteers, that building would already be reconstructed and they’d be serving coffee and treats this morning.”
To support Black Walnut, the Old South Business Association is spearheading a fundraising campaign with assistance from Sidetrack: A Wortley Café, Locomotive Espresso and the Old South Community Organization.
“It’s an extremely close-knit community and the evidence of that is how quickly we were able to move on this,” said Sidetrack co-owner Mano Majumdar.
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“We had a meeting convening the community, had a plan in place in 24 hours and the fundraiser with its first seed contribution was up in 48 hours. And that’s been up less than 24 hours itself and it’s already more than half full (to its $10,000 goal).”
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While sibling business owners Ed and Mandy Etheridge have insurance, Sterling Leishman said the funds will provide additional assistance with challenges outside of the loss of the physical space.
“The baristas, they are the café,” Majumdar added. “We know how hard it is to keep the team together, make sure everyone’s taken care of and make cashflow and payroll from week to week.”
The Etheridges previously told Global News that they planned to relocate as many of the café’s 20 staff members as possible to Black Walnut’s two other locations. A second Black Walnut store opened at Richmond and Piccadilly streets in September 2015, and a smaller satellite location opened this year at Western’s Discovery Park.
In addition to direct donations, the fundraising efforts also include Cafés of Old South posters and limited edition T-shirts for sale. Additionally, Sidetrack and Locomotive Espresso will be donating $1 from every drink sold on Wednesdays to the fund up until May 17.
— with files from Global News’ Matthew Trevithick.
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