Help Save Family Owned Bar in Downtown Saratoga
Donation protected
My name is Johnny Abreu, and I have been very close friends with Kirt and Donna Teeple since I was a teenager. I have watched them proudly keep their 3rd generation family bar afloat and make it a fun and cool place where people can get together after a long day’s work to just come and have a brief rest and relaxation.
As many of you know, small business owners put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into their business. I know Kirt and Donna have done that for the last two decades. Not once did they complain to me, despite the sudden massive hardship they have gone through without a single dollar earned since March 2020. We are now in February 2021 and here they are, a family with great values of hard work and pride, and the last thing they ever wanted to do was ask for help.
I asked Kirt candidly are you able to keep this place alive with all these closures, and for the first time in my many times checking in on him, he admitted they sunk all their savings that they had painstakingly saved over the last 20 years and it has depleted them financially beyond what I ever knew. They tried to apply for the PPP funds and during this entire shutdown, they paid their employees out of their own savings because they felt that was the right thing to do. Despite also applying for grants and loans, they received no money. Therefore, I’m reaching out to everyone on their behalf and I begged them to let me do what I can to help. I’m not just asking for everyone out there who knows these two fine human beings to help, but I am going to do everything I can to donate as well.
I pray that none of us has to deal with being cut off from our income for an entire year when all we want to do is work and earn for our families. But if that ever happens, we hopefully can turn to our friends and family with no shame or embarrassment to ask for that little help. No different from a broken leg needing a cast to give it time to heal. This donation from each and every one of you will give them the chance to heal and recover from this devastating financial loss. I can say with utmost pure passion and heart that they will be so gracious and appreciative of your help that each and every one of you can offer, so please understand that any little contribution you can donate will be of tremendous value.
Despite the closing of their business during COVID, their bills don’t magically go away. Your donation can help their precious family keep their family business alive. This family business passed down by three generations doesn’t deserve to be permanently closed at no fault of their own. Your donation will do more than just help their family, but also preserve a historical place that has been in the community for over 50 years. Here is a brief history of this monumental family bar called The Bank as told by Jim Sullivan, Donna’s father.
The Bank is a bar on Big Basin Way in Saratoga, CA, run by three generations of the family since 1972. The Bank was started 49 years ago by Len and Lou Sullivan. Len fought with the 101st Airborne in Germany in WWII and had some amazing stories to tell, including the Battle of the Bulge. Len was a volunteer firefighter for the city. The Bank is a Saratoga historical landmark built in 1912 and it indeed was a bank until 1958. It hosted different businesses until 1972 when it became a bar. The counter and bar back are from the 1860s and the brass cash register, used to this day, is about 100 years old. Len and Lou’s Son Jim and granddaughter Donnette and her husband Kirt, who have two kids, have run the bar since 2000 after Jim’s parents retired. The Bank has been a gathering place for locals to stay in touch, enjoy holidays, sporting events, and the opportunity to make new friends for almost 50 years. See attached historical photos of The Bank.
As many of you know, small business owners put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into their business. I know Kirt and Donna have done that for the last two decades. Not once did they complain to me, despite the sudden massive hardship they have gone through without a single dollar earned since March 2020. We are now in February 2021 and here they are, a family with great values of hard work and pride, and the last thing they ever wanted to do was ask for help.
I asked Kirt candidly are you able to keep this place alive with all these closures, and for the first time in my many times checking in on him, he admitted they sunk all their savings that they had painstakingly saved over the last 20 years and it has depleted them financially beyond what I ever knew. They tried to apply for the PPP funds and during this entire shutdown, they paid their employees out of their own savings because they felt that was the right thing to do. Despite also applying for grants and loans, they received no money. Therefore, I’m reaching out to everyone on their behalf and I begged them to let me do what I can to help. I’m not just asking for everyone out there who knows these two fine human beings to help, but I am going to do everything I can to donate as well.
I pray that none of us has to deal with being cut off from our income for an entire year when all we want to do is work and earn for our families. But if that ever happens, we hopefully can turn to our friends and family with no shame or embarrassment to ask for that little help. No different from a broken leg needing a cast to give it time to heal. This donation from each and every one of you will give them the chance to heal and recover from this devastating financial loss. I can say with utmost pure passion and heart that they will be so gracious and appreciative of your help that each and every one of you can offer, so please understand that any little contribution you can donate will be of tremendous value.
Despite the closing of their business during COVID, their bills don’t magically go away. Your donation can help their precious family keep their family business alive. This family business passed down by three generations doesn’t deserve to be permanently closed at no fault of their own. Your donation will do more than just help their family, but also preserve a historical place that has been in the community for over 50 years. Here is a brief history of this monumental family bar called The Bank as told by Jim Sullivan, Donna’s father.
The Bank is a bar on Big Basin Way in Saratoga, CA, run by three generations of the family since 1972. The Bank was started 49 years ago by Len and Lou Sullivan. Len fought with the 101st Airborne in Germany in WWII and had some amazing stories to tell, including the Battle of the Bulge. Len was a volunteer firefighter for the city. The Bank is a Saratoga historical landmark built in 1912 and it indeed was a bank until 1958. It hosted different businesses until 1972 when it became a bar. The counter and bar back are from the 1860s and the brass cash register, used to this day, is about 100 years old. Len and Lou’s Son Jim and granddaughter Donnette and her husband Kirt, who have two kids, have run the bar since 2000 after Jim’s parents retired. The Bank has been a gathering place for locals to stay in touch, enjoy holidays, sporting events, and the opportunity to make new friends for almost 50 years. See attached historical photos of The Bank.
Organizer and beneficiary
Johnny Abreu
Organizer
San Jose, CA
Kirt Teeple
Beneficiary