Qawa Coffee Relief
Donation protected
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the indefinite closure of Qawa Coffee Co in Middletown, CT.
For the past two years, we have dedicated all of our efforts to serving the Middletown, Wesleyan, and Greater Connecticut Community. Serving these communities went beyond serving excellent specialty coffee and food, but through philanthropic and community outreach programs, as well as food drives and poverty awareness, both local and around the world. Amirah and I started Qawa Coffee Co with the idea of bringing different communities together to share the experience of specialty coffee that our Yemeni ancestors cultivated. We owe all of our success to the countless customers, supporters and friends who we now consider family.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to explain our reasoning for closing. Despite being a successful business, we feel bullied into closing because of the unrealistic expectations of paying rent & maintenance fees for the months that we were forced to be closed by the government, as well as abandoned by both the local and federal government, who denied us any relief grants. Even with those relief grants, many local small businesses find themselves unprotected through any kind of legislation from the local government from predatory loans, landlords and vendor companies (who continue to bill for services rendered inoperable due to the pandemic). We fully support the scientific reasoning for the need of a lockdown in the early months of 2020, as well as now, however, the local government has imposed guidelines without small business protection or support. This irresponsibility by our local government will lead to many struggles for small businesses and the employees that they support, especially when they find themselves in unwanted scenarios like ours. Rent increases, back rent pay on months closed during the pandemic, and maintenance fees for unused amenities we feel should be illegalized for small businesses. There should be support from the local government during COVID exposures for small businesses as well, especially when the recommended quarantine time is 2 weeks. Many businesses found it hard to cope with the negative business side-effects of COVID-19, however, our community has done a tremendous job in supporting Qawa Coffee, and we thank them deeply for that.
We urge you to join our fight in spreading awareness, and speaking to your local representatives so that this can stop happening to local successful small businesses and running them to the ground. Being a business that helps support the local homeless community in Middletown, as well as houses a variety of support groups, this is tearing more than one layer of our community. This lack of action by our local government causes vulnerabilities in communities and squashes small businesses and entrepreneurial ideas for our future.
Although our doors will close indefinitely on Sunday, December 6th, the idea of Qawa Coffee is alive. Amirah and I are not quitters, and with your help and support, we can reopen in the near future at a new location. The funds used from GoFundMe will relieve our staff as we transition into a new life. We are grateful for anyone that helps support and share our story, and if the only thing that can come out of spreading awareness means less small businesses have to close their doors, then that will be more than enough for us.
We invite you all to come to Qawa Coffee during regular business hours Friday (4th) and Saturday (5th) so that we can serve you one last time. If you would like to read about what Qawa Coffee has done for the Middletown Community, click the links below.
With Love,
Abdul & Amirah
https://www.courant.com/ctnow/food-drink/hc-ctnow-qawa-coffee-kitchen-initiative-20200718-vdvyujqdfrff7nqt7mf2zevqc4-story.html
For the past two years, we have dedicated all of our efforts to serving the Middletown, Wesleyan, and Greater Connecticut Community. Serving these communities went beyond serving excellent specialty coffee and food, but through philanthropic and community outreach programs, as well as food drives and poverty awareness, both local and around the world. Amirah and I started Qawa Coffee Co with the idea of bringing different communities together to share the experience of specialty coffee that our Yemeni ancestors cultivated. We owe all of our success to the countless customers, supporters and friends who we now consider family.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to explain our reasoning for closing. Despite being a successful business, we feel bullied into closing because of the unrealistic expectations of paying rent & maintenance fees for the months that we were forced to be closed by the government, as well as abandoned by both the local and federal government, who denied us any relief grants. Even with those relief grants, many local small businesses find themselves unprotected through any kind of legislation from the local government from predatory loans, landlords and vendor companies (who continue to bill for services rendered inoperable due to the pandemic). We fully support the scientific reasoning for the need of a lockdown in the early months of 2020, as well as now, however, the local government has imposed guidelines without small business protection or support. This irresponsibility by our local government will lead to many struggles for small businesses and the employees that they support, especially when they find themselves in unwanted scenarios like ours. Rent increases, back rent pay on months closed during the pandemic, and maintenance fees for unused amenities we feel should be illegalized for small businesses. There should be support from the local government during COVID exposures for small businesses as well, especially when the recommended quarantine time is 2 weeks. Many businesses found it hard to cope with the negative business side-effects of COVID-19, however, our community has done a tremendous job in supporting Qawa Coffee, and we thank them deeply for that.
We urge you to join our fight in spreading awareness, and speaking to your local representatives so that this can stop happening to local successful small businesses and running them to the ground. Being a business that helps support the local homeless community in Middletown, as well as houses a variety of support groups, this is tearing more than one layer of our community. This lack of action by our local government causes vulnerabilities in communities and squashes small businesses and entrepreneurial ideas for our future.
Although our doors will close indefinitely on Sunday, December 6th, the idea of Qawa Coffee is alive. Amirah and I are not quitters, and with your help and support, we can reopen in the near future at a new location. The funds used from GoFundMe will relieve our staff as we transition into a new life. We are grateful for anyone that helps support and share our story, and if the only thing that can come out of spreading awareness means less small businesses have to close their doors, then that will be more than enough for us.
We invite you all to come to Qawa Coffee during regular business hours Friday (4th) and Saturday (5th) so that we can serve you one last time. If you would like to read about what Qawa Coffee has done for the Middletown Community, click the links below.
With Love,
Abdul & Amirah
https://www.courant.com/ctnow/food-drink/hc-ctnow-qawa-coffee-kitchen-initiative-20200718-vdvyujqdfrff7nqt7mf2zevqc4-story.html
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Middletown, CT
