As many of you know, the restaurant industry has been particularly devastated by the COVID-19 crisis. Like many other restaurant owners in this position, we sadly could not afford to keep our doors open at full capacity. As a result, we reached the heartbreaking conclusion that we had to lay off the vast majority of our staff indefinitely. 

Our staff is an extension of our family. We have hosted them at Thanksgivings in our home, we have attended graduations, supported them through deaths and births, we remain close even after they move on from Dopo. We know you know and love them too. They remember your names and details of your life, they celebrate big occasions with you. You also celebrate their personal victories and know their names.

They are responsible for a joyous dining experience, for our fresh bread, our fresh pasta, ragu, pizza--you name it. It takes a prep cook, a dishwasher, a server and a line cook just to get our zeppole perfectly fried and on your table (not to mention all the other hands that get the raw ingredients to our doorstep!). 

Some people in the restaurant industry are more deeply impacted by this than others, as a sizable percentage of restaurant employees don't qualify for unemployment for various reasons. We wanted to raise funds first and foremost to help those we know who won't receive unemployment benefits. Anything over our projected goal will be disbursed among the rest of our team. 

ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO OUR FORMER STAFF. 

We know there is a lot of need out there right now and we can't overstate our gratitude for your continued support.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Jon & Kayta