Help Zani Reopen From Fire

My name is Lizzy, and one of the owners of Zani, my husband Jeff and I have owned this charming shop for about six years now, with the business’s 30th anniversary coming up next May.

On October 27th, 2022, a fire started above the ceiling at Zani. Firefighters were able to put out the flames before it spread badly to the surrounding businesses, but the damages done inside the shop of Zani were significant. There is still an investigation into the cause of the fire, but many of the charred, broken, and smoke-damaged items can not be salvaged. We are devastated, to say the least. Within the last two years, we endured the Covid shutdown, a massive roof leak that flooded the store, an extended construction project that closed us for six months, and now this fire. It feels like we can’t catch a break lately.

We took over this shop from a line of owners, and while we have expanded its collection, we’ve always tried to maintain the heart of it; local and unique art. I’ve met a lot of amazing artists and members of this community by owning this place. Many aspiring artists come in hoping to display their work, and one of my favorite things is watching them find their unique perspective with art. I hear almost daily from our customers how we’re one of their favorite shops in town, how they can always find something special, even how good it always smells when they come in. It never ceases to warm my heart.

We want to continue to supply local artists with a space to show their work. And though we do have insurance to cover our losses, the complete makeover the shop will need will be a lengthy and expensive process. We’ve done our best to stay afloat with all the previous closures but having shut our doors so often over the past two years; this fire may be too big of a blow for us to do it alone.

Many community members have reached out to us asking if they can help in some way or if we have set up a GoFundMe. We were touched by how supportive everyone has been during our hardship. We would be forever grateful if you have the means to donate at all to our reopening costs. We will also be attending the Flagstaff Winter Market on December 3rd with whatever undamaged inventory we can salvage and orders currently being shipped to us.

We appreciate your support and can’t wait to see you all again!