Please Help Edzo's Burger Shop Stay Open

Eddie from Edzo's here and I'm asking our community for some help.

Like most restaurants, the Covid years have been a wild ride.

We took, then ran through PPP loans, keeping our crew on full hours until we weren't able to continue. We took on a ton of debt in order to get back open and have a big hole to dig out of now. I haven't paid myself for months.

Since re-opening in September, we have struggled to stay open regular hours due to staffing issues, but recently, thanks to you, our loyal local customer base, it felt like we were starting to hit our stride.

Unfortunately, last week, the motor in our exhaust fan died and with no ventilation, the frigid weather, and the holiday week, we were forced to shut down four of the five days. After spending $2k on a new motor, it worked for a day before some underlying electrical issues revealed themselves and in order to troubleshoot and address them, we've had to close for parts of two more days.

So...because of these expenses and all the lost revenue from being closed so many days...we need some help. I need to raise some funds pretty quickly in order to be able to pay rent, make my bills, and keep operating.

So I am calling upon you, our customer base, to help. Please contribute what you can. We view your contributions as a donation from a friend and we appreciate anything you can do.

In exchange for your help, we promise to keep on making our signature burgers, fries, and shakes, to continue employing local cooks and dishwashers, to still be a part of mentoring young and at-risk folks in the joys of a career in the culinary field, to keep working with local charities to raise funds, and to keep in mind that our most important job is being a positive member of the Evanston community, providing hospitality, a gathering space, and a splurgeworthy meal.

Thank you in advance for considering helping us during this time. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me personally,

Sincerely,

Eddie Lakin

owner/operator