Support Our Kitchen Staff :)
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Hello! Bienvenidos to Oiistar’s GoFund Me page for our kitchen staff.
Oiistar has been proud to have been part of such an incredible town for 8 years! Ever since we first opened to the present moment we have been honored to be part of the Wicker Park community. It is humbling to be able for us to have been able to share the same passion of food with you all. During these painful times we have much grieved over not being able to see everyone’s faces slurp through our luscious bowls of ramen. At Oiistar, we believe that food goes beyond the taste, it’s the comfortable ambiance, energetic music floating through the air, and floating notes of savory aromas that make dining-in feel like an oasis from the most stressful days to the celebratory ones.
I have been with Oiistar since its very early days and I have never met such dedicated, hard-working, and compassionate individuals before. Growing up not only watching my parents spend years building from bottom up what is now Oiistar, I have also grown up with the back-of-the-house staff as my second family. I grew up calling them my “tíos” (or uncles) as I grew to admire how hard they work. They have taught me what it means to live a humble life or “una vida humilde”. I developed not only a sense of integrity, but I can now habla español (pero solamente un poco) thanks to them (muchas gracias señores)!
Being able to grow up under the wings of incredible people or mis héroes (my heroes), I feel it is time to pay it forward to them (dar algo a cambio). Currently with the outbreak of COVID-19, I know that it has struck mis tíos hard. During this COVID-19 outbreak, many restaurants and small businesses, including Oiistar, have closed. However, this has been more impactful to the back-of-the-house staff. Under the framework of the restaurant tipping structure, all of the customers tips are legal ownership of the front-of-the house. Since, tips comprise a large portion of a customer’s check, the inaccessibility of the back-of-the-house to access these tips leads to a vast income inequality between those who have access to the tips and those who do not.
Even though I am still young (muy joven...at least creo que I am joven), I wanted to do as much as I could to try to account for this indifference. I believe that our back-of-the-house staff deserve much more for their dedication. Knowing that their families would be affected during this painful time, I realized that it's mi tiempo to pay it forward. Although I have never used GoFund me before, I thought that it would be a great way to try to do my part to help mis tíos y sus familias durante this time of struggle.
We understand that these times have not been easy for anybody. They have tested us of our true ability to reunirse (come together) and tener coraje (have courage). We are all enduring through these painful times together. But for those who are employed and have a few extra dollars to spare, you would be a great help to mis tíos who are really in need of it during these tough times. Thank you, muchas gracias, we miss everyone dearly! ¡Hasta prontos, mis amigos! ¡Be safe y recordar, permanecer seis pies de distancia!
Con Amor,
Megan :-)
Oiistar has been proud to have been part of such an incredible town for 8 years! Ever since we first opened to the present moment we have been honored to be part of the Wicker Park community. It is humbling to be able for us to have been able to share the same passion of food with you all. During these painful times we have much grieved over not being able to see everyone’s faces slurp through our luscious bowls of ramen. At Oiistar, we believe that food goes beyond the taste, it’s the comfortable ambiance, energetic music floating through the air, and floating notes of savory aromas that make dining-in feel like an oasis from the most stressful days to the celebratory ones.
I have been with Oiistar since its very early days and I have never met such dedicated, hard-working, and compassionate individuals before. Growing up not only watching my parents spend years building from bottom up what is now Oiistar, I have also grown up with the back-of-the-house staff as my second family. I grew up calling them my “tíos” (or uncles) as I grew to admire how hard they work. They have taught me what it means to live a humble life or “una vida humilde”. I developed not only a sense of integrity, but I can now habla español (pero solamente un poco) thanks to them (muchas gracias señores)!
Being able to grow up under the wings of incredible people or mis héroes (my heroes), I feel it is time to pay it forward to them (dar algo a cambio). Currently with the outbreak of COVID-19, I know that it has struck mis tíos hard. During this COVID-19 outbreak, many restaurants and small businesses, including Oiistar, have closed. However, this has been more impactful to the back-of-the-house staff. Under the framework of the restaurant tipping structure, all of the customers tips are legal ownership of the front-of-the house. Since, tips comprise a large portion of a customer’s check, the inaccessibility of the back-of-the-house to access these tips leads to a vast income inequality between those who have access to the tips and those who do not.
Even though I am still young (muy joven...at least creo que I am joven), I wanted to do as much as I could to try to account for this indifference. I believe that our back-of-the-house staff deserve much more for their dedication. Knowing that their families would be affected during this painful time, I realized that it's mi tiempo to pay it forward. Although I have never used GoFund me before, I thought that it would be a great way to try to do my part to help mis tíos y sus familias durante this time of struggle.
We understand that these times have not been easy for anybody. They have tested us of our true ability to reunirse (come together) and tener coraje (have courage). We are all enduring through these painful times together. But for those who are employed and have a few extra dollars to spare, you would be a great help to mis tíos who are really in need of it during these tough times. Thank you, muchas gracias, we miss everyone dearly! ¡Hasta prontos, mis amigos! ¡Be safe y recordar, permanecer seis pies de distancia!
Con Amor,
Megan :-)
Organizer
Megan Yim
Organizer
Chicago, IL
