The community of East Harlem is rallying to support a local business and its employees after Santiago's Beer Garden, a staple in the area renowned for its bottomless brunch, suffered significant damage due to a fire on November 19. The blaze, the origins of which are still under investigation, has left the restaurant's future uncertain and its 30 employees without jobs just as the holiday season gets underway. The restaurant's owner, Matthew Fermin, is now taking to the community for help. According to CBS News New York, Fermin has launched a GoFundMe campaign with the hope of raising enough money to cover his staff's wages for two months as they face unemployment.
Firefighters were called to the scene at the outdoor venue attached to the restaurant on 120th Street and First Avenue around 6 p.m., to a four-alarm fire that eventually spread to an adjacent residential building, impacting every resident with either water, smoke, or fire damage. During the fire, a woman named Sindy, who owns a nearby dry cleaning business, was evacuated as smoke engulfed her shop, as ABC7 New York reported. The blaze was fought by roughly 170 firefighters. Deputy Assistant Chief James Canty explained that "The windows gave way due to the extreme heat in the rear of the building and the fire entered through those windows," leading to significant damage to the residential structure.
While the investigation into the fire's origin persists, Fermin has not only started the crowdfunding initiative but also filed an insurance claim, and has even obtained free legal services through the city's Department of Small Business Services, as mentioned in the CBS News New York interview. A Thanksgiving tradition at the restaurant of preparing and donating meals to local schools has been inevitably suspended due to the disaster.
With one person reportedly suffering minor injuries due to the incident, the full extent of the fire's impact on the lives of nearby residents and Santiago's Beer Garden employees is yet to be completely understood.
