Fundraiser, Alternate Employment for OK Cafe Employees

Employees at a Buckhead restaurant who have been put out of work by a major fire will have fewer worries this holiday season due to the generosity of the community.

100 staff at OK Cafe will be out of work for some time due to a fire which ravaged the restaurant on Dec. 7. It’s expected that repairs will keep the restaurant shuttered indefinitely.

To help the staff make it through the holiday season with as little financial hardship as possible, a fundraiser was set up which gave 100 percent of the proceeds to the affected employees. The initial goal for the fundraiser was $25,000, but a total of $58,745 was raised for OK Cafe’s staff.

Fundraiser organizer John McColl said that after the initial goal was met, he hoped that donations would double and top the $50,000 mark. According to the fundraiser’s official webpage, the employees received 235 percent more money than the original donation goal.

In addition to the fundraiser, the newly-opened Buckhead Tavern has opened its doors to OK Cafe employees, offering them a familiar setting in which to work while they wait to return to the landmark eatery. WSB-TV says that Buckhead Tavern owner Johnny Esposito talked with OK Cafe ownership, who signed off on the arrangement.

Other restaurants are helping out, as well. Michael Anderson, who owns Portofino, donated 15 percent of the money his restaurant made last Tuesday to the fundraiser set up to financially support the displaced staff during the holiday season.