Barstool Sports Donation Helping Cape Diner Survive Winter

FALMOUTH, MA — Like many restaurants trying their best to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic, Betsy's Diner was scrambling to figure out how to pay its bills after a tough final quarter of 2020.

Owner Kaz Keuchkarian hoped the vaccine would have been more widely available by the end of the year and didn't expect to go through tough Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years weekends. Last week after a day at the diner, Keuchkarian reflected on the reality of the pandemic and wondered how he would pay the restaurant's next electric bill.

But then, those worries went away — at least temporarily, because of one phone call.

The call came from Dave Portnoy, founder of the entertainment media company Barstool Sports. Portnoy had called to give Keuchkarian the news that Betsy's Diner was selected by Barstool Sports to receive $20,000 through the website's fund to help small businesses nationwide.

"It was fantastic," Keuchkarian said in reaction to receiving aid. "It's been tough, especially this last quarter with the holidays. We didn't come close to doing anything we did last year. But it (the donation) was very impressive. It was huge shot in the arm to be able to get through this month and get some major things taken care of."

Keuchkarian said this was the first relief he's received during the pandemic, despite applying for every government grant available. And now, with the money coming in from Barstool Sports, Keuchkarian said the restaurant is in a much better position to make it through the winter.

But there will still be significant challenges. One of those challenges has been the 25 percent capacity put in place at Massachusetts restaurants, though Keuchkarian remained hopeful that restriction may ease soon. The other major ordeal to overcome is the fear many people have in going out to eat right now with COVID-19 cases continuing to soar throughout the state.

"We'll see what happens and if [the capacity limit increases] happen, it's great, but it's really the fear people have," Keuchkarian said. "The restaurant industry in itself has to abide by some very strict standards. You can't get the fear out of the people when they keep hearing what they hear every day by the news."

Despite difficult challenges to overcome, Keuchkarian isn't conceding. He said Betsy's Diner is his pride, and it would take a lot for him to give up.

"We are here, and we aren't going anywhere, and Barstool has allowed us to make that process easier to be able to deal with the challenges that we're faced with in our industry right now," Keuchkarian said. "We need to survive to the spring to get to the outside seating. Once we get there, people will come out, and they'll feel a lot more comfortable."