17 years of service, now suddenly out of business!

Hello. My name is Jim Thompson, and I frequently dine at the 5th Street Diner at 134 Harvard Street in Fitchburg, MA. A fire abruptly ended the dining business last Saturday, October 18th. The fire occurred in the apartment above the Diner and adjacent stores. When the fire was extinguished, the water from the hoses flowed through the floor to the stores below, causing damage. Gas and electric utilities were shut off in the street, but it also caused the cold storage in the diner to be deactivated without warning. An attempt was made to keep the fridges and freezers running with generators, but the full extent of damage and loss is still being evaluated by Municipal and Board of Health Inspectors. The cost in damages is a combination of loss of products, destroyed supplies, as well as lost wages.

I'm asking for your generosity to prevent Tina and Ed Zannino, mom and pop owners, from being forced to close the doors of this family favorite home cooked cuisine diner permanently. This mom and pop eatery has survived blizzards, floods, and a pandemic. Hot meals were appreciated by snow plow drivers and first responders as this food hot-spot was one of the few places open in the city in the early mornings and difficult weather conditions.

Thank you to all in advance for your heartfelt contributions. Keeping this diner open is of utmost importance, as losing the diner would mean losing a part of our community heritage, making the lives of our first responders and snow plow drivers more difficult. The lost wages will continue until the building is fully repaired and re-opened, or until Ed and Tina find new jobs. If they must find new jobs, the diner will be lost forever.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who has already sent in a donation, it is appreciated more than words alone can describe. However we still have not reached the milestone goal of $2,800 let alone the major goal of $20,000. Costs keep piling up and the diner is still closed. We kindly ask you to please consider giving as much as you can to help Ed and Tina. Please remember that every dollar counts, especially when it goes into helping our community.