Toronto cafe devastated after building catches fire just days after flooding
Flood, fire...this is what a Toronto cafe has been through in just a few short days, although it might sounds like signs of the apocalypse.
It truly feels like the world is ending a little bit for Krave Coffee, and just as we've entered Step 3 and gaining back some sense of normalcy when it comes to businesses and public spaces.
Now, there's a GoFundMe with a $30,000 dollar goal to help with employees' wages and other uninsured costs while the business is temporarily closed.
The flooding was totally accidental, the landlord's contractor accidentally breaking a pipe to the radiator while renovating at 12:30 p.m. on July 9. While the water wasn't hot, it was treated with antifreeze, and flooded down into the shop through the ceiling and lighting.
The circumstances of the fire were similarly unavoidable but tragic, the results of arson committed on July 13 at 4:22 a.m.
A screenshot of an Instagram story from Krave showing the extent of the damage from the fire.
"We have video of the fire being lit. My landlord is renovating the entire building and had construction debris, old hallway carpeting rolled up and other debris, beside my patio. The debris was lit and my deck caught fire and it went up all the way to the third floor," Krave owner Calay Hall tells blogTO.
"We had two broken windows in the shop and more water damage from the fire hoses. The smoke damage is the worst. It touched every single thing in the shop. Still waiting to see the extent of the damage to my contents, especially my coffee equipment, fridges."
An Instagram story of what the patio looked like before.
Insurance will cover 90 per cent of her contents, and wages aren't covered. The business will be shut down for four to six weeks. Not only is Step 3 just beginning, it's also the high season for Krave and they were just about to open an add-on juice bar.
What the patio at Krave looked like after the fire.
"My employees are affected the most so hopefully the GoFundMe helps them with extra income, because EI doesn't pay that much and there can be a delay in receiving funds from that, and I don’t want them to feel like they have to find another job," says Hall.
"The last thing I need is to reopen and have all new staff that I have to train from scratch because any new employees won't know how we operated before the fire. I want to make sure that all my employees don't have to worry about anything while we're shut down."
Another photo of the fire damage posted to Krave's Instagram story.
Either way, Hall hopes none of her contents or equipment were damaged beyond repair and is planning on reopening as quickly as possible with a big celebration.
Krave Coffee
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