This article was written 小萝莉影视鈥檚 news partner and republished with permission.
Ballston restaurant SER is hoping a will keep the business afloat after 聽damaged the locally-owned eatery.
鈥淭he water apparently came through faulty drains in the building鈥檚 third floor balcony, spread through the third and second floors, and then seeped into every corner at SER,鈥� owner Javier Candon wrote on the GoFundMe page. 鈥淲e are at a loss about the physical and emotional toll this has taken on us and our entire SER family.鈥�
The Spanish restaurant has so far raised more than $2,500 after launching the campaign Thursday. The current fundraising goal: $65,000.
Candon noted that this is the fourth time SER has flooded since聽 in 2015. 聽Last July the restaurant had to temporarily close when the after the roof collapsed.
Candon told ARLnow he was 鈥渨eighing his聽options鈥� on how best to聽move forward.
鈥淲e are all devastated,鈥� he said via email. 鈥淲e have been closed all week impacting not only our guests and the parties we鈥檝e had to cancel, but our hard working staff. Everything was damaged in the restaurant as water seeped in everywhere鈥� the furniture, our bar, our ceiling tiles, equipment, etc.鈥�
鈥淲e want to remain in the building as this feels like home to us and to all our loyal guests,鈥� he said of the numerous issues the restaurant has faced. 鈥淲e are hoping to continue to work closely with the landlord to resolve the water issues in the building鈥� The safety of our staff and our guests is paramount to us and we are hoping the landlord will resolve the water issues in the building once and for all.鈥�
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Candon said he is filing insurance claims but there鈥檚 uncertainty about what will be paid and when. In the meantime, SER is facing mounting costs and will use the GoFundMe proceeds to 鈥渢o get the restaurant open ASAP.鈥�
鈥淯nfortunately, we don鈥檛 have the luxury to wait for the claims to begin reconstruction,鈥� he said.
Two and a half days after Monday鈥檚 storm dumped over three inches of rain across the region in an hour, Arlington County a state of emergency. Since then, at least 200 and 15 business owners have filed claims for aid with the county, .
The county鈥檚 emergency declaration opens up the possibility of state and federal aid, but the declaration still needs to be finalized by the Arlington County Board 鈥� and even if approved by state and federal authorities it鈥檚 not clear what would would qualify for aid and how much.
SER isn鈥檛 the only business raising money online for post-storm recovery.
A resident raising money for flooded聽 blew past a $25,000 fundraising goal in less than a day, stretching the goal to $100,000 to help cover the damage caused and merchandise lost when flood waters filled basements and knocked out power.
As of 11 a.m. this morning, the Westover聽聽raised about $55,000 to support the damaged shops.
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