<div>Valued Berbere Friends and Customers,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It is with great sadness that we, Shannon &amp; Gustavo, share with you our dear friend, Chef T, has to close her amazing restaurant. Due to the devastation of the recent Los Angeles fires, Berbere Restaurant - located in Santa Monica, California - is unable to keep their doors open, and has ultimately<strong> been forced to close permanently on March 30, 2025. </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We are putting out this request for help, with a declaration to the Berbere community that Chef T, Owner and Executive Chef, Bicko her husband and the entire Berbere team are not giving up! They are determined to reframe this devastating loss into an opportunity to pivot and expand into the beginning of a brand new dream.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We invite you to read below and join us, in support of Chef T and Team:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>1. OPEN A NEW LOCATION</strong>: Chef T has found a new location for Berbere in Topanga, California, and has applied for a loan from a California state relief program that, if granted, would help with the move to the new area. Her application is currently pending, and we pray for a favorable determination by June 2025.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The state relief loan, if received, will cover a certain amount of costs for this move, but cannot be relied upon for all costs involved. After, Chef T and Bicko, invested all of their own personal savings to keep Berbere open during COVID they now need our help! This dream requires support from the grassroots efforts of those like us who love Berbere and believe in Chef T's work in offering high quality, organic vegetarian/vegan Ethiopian cuisine. This gofundme amount of $150,000 in combination with the state relief loan will successfully secure the new location. <em>The timeline agreed upon between Chef T and Berbere's new landlord is to hopefully enter a commitment by June 15, 2025.</em>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>2. DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE VEGAN/VEGETARIAN AND MEDICAL MEDIUM COMMUNITY:</strong> Berbere is well known in vegan/vegetarian circles, and also by Anthony William and the Medical Medium community. Chef T shares the same values with our communities as she partners with local organic farmers and vendors to create her dishes. The attention to detail in her produce, spices, and other ingredients is invaluable to the vegan/vegetarian and MM communities. It serves as the fundamental reason why we believe Berbere is a cause that must be supported to stay open and thrive as a refreshing contrast to mainstream restaurants.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>3. DEEPEN BERBERE'S FAMILY CULTURE:</strong> Chef T’s heart's desire is to create a warm environment not only for daily customers, but for special events and group gatherings where tight-knit bonds can be fostered. As an example - specifically regarding the Medical Medium events that often occur in L.A - she expressed in her own words, “When the MM community comes to town, I very much want them to feel at home here.” Berbere’s new location in Topanga is larger than its original space, comfortably seating over 200 people, and with an expansive floor plan to accommodate larger special events and group gatherings.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>$150,000 WILL BE USED FOR:</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>-CLOSURE AND RELOCATION COSTS
</div>
<div>-RENOVATIONS
</div>
<div>-ADVERTISING
</div>
<div>-RENT PAYMENTS
</div>
<div>-PAYROLL FOR STAFF <em>(Note: Chef T’s staff are standing behind her during this loss, and have expressed their intention to follow her to the new location.)</em>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>MORE ABOUT CHEF T:
</div>
<div>Chef T is the Executive Chef at Berbere and one of the new leading voices changing the way food is done in Los Angeles, California. Word started to quickly spread about her ability to use authentic Ethiopian spices and blend them seamlessly with local dishes. Chef T has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, KCRW, VegOut magazine and other major publications to name a few. Chef T believes that some of the best memories revolve around amazing food and family – she has even a dedicated family seating section towards the back of the restaurant.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We extend our most heartfelt gratitude to all who feel inspired to donate, no matter how small or large, as we hope to witness this heartbreak, sadness, and grief fruiting to bloom this new dream into reality. 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>MANY THANKS and BLESSINGS,
</div>
<div>Shannon &amp; Gustavo
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.myberbere.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.myberbere.com</a>
</div>

Anonymous

Triston Trotter

Catherine Reinsch

Setare Taabodi

David Peterzell

Rebecca Masor

sandra williams

Molly Miller

Danielle Hester

Blen EsheteRoesler

Alexandra Boyles

Lauren Randall

Ruby McKillop

Jake Stolz

Margaret Miyuki

Lisa Bok

Revive Berbere: Chef T's New Beginning

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Revive Berbere: Chef T's New Beginning

Still $147,995 to go. Help us build momentum.