Clay Restaurant Family Relief Fund

Sunday 3/15/2020 we spent the night shutting down Clay instead of celebrating its third anniversary. Our hearts were broken as we were forced to lay off all of our incredibly talented and dedicated staff, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck. They have worked tirelessly to make Clay the success it is, and are the reason we have been able to realize our vision of excellence in hospitality and service. We are so proud to call them family. Our guests are also a part of our Clay family, for whom we are so deeply grateful. We have created this GoFundMe page in hopes that, if you are able, you will provide some financial relief for them in this most uncertain and devastating time. We ask for your help and generosity in helping to offset their lost wages and create stability for those whose passion and skill make Clay so special. We hope to see government assistance distributed expeditiously, but this too remains uncertain. 100% of funds raised will be distributed directly to our team. We wish you all good health and a positive mindset, and look forward to seeing you all when we are able to open our doors again. GoFundMe has asked us to clarify a few things, and we are happy to provide additional information, as well as answer and questions donors may have! I’m Andrea Needell, one of the owners of Clay, which is a sustainably-minded farm to table neighborhood restaurant in Harlem. As their former employer, I opened this GoFundMe page to fundraise for my staff who we were forced to lay off when we closed. We are now withdrawing the funds raised here, which will be evenly divided amongst all who were active employees at the time of our closure, and will be distributed to them via check or Zelle payment as soon as the money is received in our bank account!