GoFundMes Aid Beloved Park Slope Bars Closed During Coronavirus

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Support your Park Slope watering hole. That's the order served up by a bevy of GoFundMe fundraisers set up since the new coronavirus dried up the bar business.

And it looks like loyal customers picked up the tab.

A GoFundMe for Bell House and Union Hall's staff topped $30,000, and counting. Likewise, a fundraiser for Lowlands Bar staff raised more than $3,000 off an initial $100 goal.

Those fundraisers, and more, sprang up after a state order turned the lights off on Park Slope's vibrant bar scene.

Bartender Misty Smith worked at American Cheez but found herself out of work with the closures. She said bars, including American Cheez, and regulars quickly began fundraisers for their staffs as the closures left them without sources of income.

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And some fundraisers don't just help staff make ends meet.

Barbès opened a GoFundMe last week, not just for its staff, but also for its survival through the coronavirus crisis.

"Money raised will go towards paying bills - including a fund for bartenders - and insure we can re-open when the time comes - if the time comes," the GoFundMe states.

A Patch reader posted about the fundraiser, writing the establishment needs help from the community.

"Help save the most truly unique bar in our neighborhood! Barbes needs us. We will need music and beer after all of this," the reader wrote.

An extensive, but by no means comprehensive, list of GoFundMe fundraisers for Park Slope area bars with links to them is as follows:

• American Cheez
• Angry Wades, Dram Shop and Guero
• Barbès
• Buttermilk Bar
• Commonwealth Bar
• The Double Windsor
• Freddy's Bar
• The Gate
• Lowlands Bar
• Mission Dolores
• Owl Farm
• Prospect Bar & Grill
• Skylark

Patch is organizing a simple open-or-closed directory for Park Slope businesses. More information can be found here.

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