Help us fix or replace equipment and necessities

Hello all,

We are not a fan of being here, but when it rains it pours (or in our case, when one thing breaks, everything else follows suit). It certainly isn't a surprise to us that we'd have to replace some equipment in our new space. Not only was much of it over a decade old, but it was sitting dormant for almost five years when we took possession of our new beautiful space. We knew we'd have to replace or fix things as they came along, but we were NOT anticipating just about everything taking a nose dive at once.

As a small business with razor thin margins and operating during the slowest months of the year (shout out to JAN/FEB in Chicago), we can't even pay ourselves as owners, let alone pay to fix all of these things. With a forthcoming surgery for one of us to tackle financially, and both of us struggling to even keep gas in our car or, well, eat most days, we know we've hit a point this year where our only option is to ask for a little help.

What is broken/breaking and needs fixing/replacing:

1. Our reach in fridge and pastry case (we inherited from former occupant) has already cost over $2,000 to fix since we opened. Now we are told it will cost double that to fix it again. We could buy a new/used one for less than all of this, so we want to replace. It will also cost extra to just remove this bad boy.

2. One of our back fridge continues its dream of becoming a freezer. We hate being the one to squash dreams, but, alas, this fridge needs to stay a fridge.

3. Our water heater is nearing the end of its life. We're terrified it is just going to collapse or die when we need it most. It needs an upgrade.

4. A part of our HVAC needs to be reconfigured as it is currently a noise nuisance to our upstairs neighbor and is not performing as well, which makes the other heater work harder to keep up. A small(er) fix, but could save us a ton down the road.

5. Entrance lighting. We want our entrance to be brighter/safer for patrons and our staff at closing. Some rewiring needs to happen to make this happen.

6. Entrance tagging. We want to update the facade at the entrance so that we aren't a constant tagging destination and it makes our entrance more clear to patrons. We intended to apply for a grant for this with the SSA, but the facade program is currently on hold. We'd like to pay a local artist to cover the entrance wall with something amazing and bright so jerks wont tag it anymore.

We realize this is an imposition. Honestly, if we were another year in and truly back on our feet, we'd likely not have to ask.