There’s been an outpouring of support for the five businesses that have closed as a result of Monday’s fire in downtown Ballard.
Ballard Alliance initially set the GoFundMe goal at $25,000 when they launched the fundraiser on Monday evening. They quickly surpassed the initial ask, and have adjusted the goal to $65k.
“Due to the overwhelming community support – and as the extent of damage is being understood – we have increased our goal to $65,000,” the Alliance writes. As of Wednesday at 2pm, they’d hit $49,393 with over 400 donors.
La Isla has also launched their own fundraiser, with just over $1,000 raised since they launched it yesterday.
“We have been a part of the Ballard community for years, and have every intention of rebuilding as this is our home. To do this, we are asking for some help. As there’s always a gap between insurance and the actual cost of rebuilding, making every little bit of support help so very much,”La Isla writes on the fundraiser website.
Meanwhile, damage is still being assessed, as businesses figure out their next steps.
Kitchen N Things posted a message to their Facebook followers, expressing gratitude for the community support.
“It makes us so very happy to see that what we do is still being well received after almost 50 years in business! We’re still less than 24 hours into this mess, and so our next steps are TBD — but we wanted to share a great, big expression of gratitude toward everyone who has reached out to show that you care.”
David Coleman, co-owner of Octo Designs (formerly known as Coleman Jewelers), told Q13 that some of their inventory can be cleaned and refinished, but much of it will go straight in the bin.
Pho Big Bowl owner Duke Nguyen told the Seattle P-I that they had a restaurant full of diners when smoke began filtering in. When he realized what was happening next door, he told everyone to leave.
“The customers keep paying, I just thought that was so funny. You don’t have to pay, just run,” Nguyen told the PI.
He said he’ll aim to reopen, but has concerns about the structure of the building after the fire.
The sidewalk is currently blocked along the storefronts — there’s still a good amount of debris in front of the building. So far, the loss has been estimated at $3 million.
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Not trying to be a jerk, and I’m glad to see the community support, but did these companies not have fire insurance?
Firstly there’s usually a deductible on insurance plans so this could help cover that. Secondly I’m not sure if insurance would cover the lost income for all the employees of these businesses, or the lost income of not doing business. Lastly some people might not have the savings to wait months for an insurance company payout.
Ah yes, thanks for the response! That all makes sense. I honestly don’t know much of anything about running a business, so this is helpful information. Thanks again
Most haven’t a clue as to what it takes to “run a business”. Many in business shouldn’t be. It is NOT all glory and profits. A business can own you too. We all see the ads for Aflac. Here’s where it would work. Saving a few $$ is always a good idea too.
We just had a mandatory city inspection at our rental home. Cost us $$ and rent is going up.
Donate your $$$ to your local food bank, it will do more good for more people.
Life is not fair, they should have Ins.
Yeah, will do more good for everyone but those who live or work near the food bank.
explain please
humanitarian — as explained above, people will be out of work, payouts can take a while, there are deductibles, and if you’ve ever been in a fender bender or to the doctor you know insurance will try not to pay everything. How about you just let people help each other?