“Yesterday, a phone call changed my life,” Prosen said. “It made my Christmas Eve very special. I was very surprised, very honored to receive these funds from Barstool.”
In the video for the grant, Prosen admits that her family business is struggling.
“I’m sorry. I’m going to feel so emotional, but this is my home. My employees are not just my employees. My employees are my family,” she said.
She sent the video to the Barstool Fund to get financial help for her troubled restaurant.
“It’s tough, it’s very tough. It’s scary. I mean, you know, last Sunday we had a $ 68 sale. Who survives on a $ 68 sale? So it’s very scary,” Prosen said.
Despite the challenges of the last nine months, she refused to interrupt her salary.
He was driving on Thursday when he received a phone call from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who recently set up the Barstool Fund. The fund supports small businesses affected by shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, it has raised $ 5.9 million from 56,000 donors. Portnoy himself contributed $ 500,000 of his money to the fund.
“We receive thousands of emails,” he said. “The basic requirements we have: your salary must be activated. We don’t just want to help business owners, we want to help employees.”
Prosen was so overwhelmed by the news that she would receive funding that she had to stop. Portnoy gives her $ 15,000 every month until her restaurant can be opened to capacity.
“He is someone with a long history of success, a loyal customer base,” he said. “Clearly, the restaurant is her life, and to lose it like that because of you, these are the people you want to help.”
“It’s huge. And I’ll be able to sleep better at night for the next few nights,” Prosen said.
Barstool Fund was launched in collaboration with the 30-day non-profit fund. Portnoy had the idea to start the fund after New York City renewed its ban on dining indoors. The National Association of Restaurants considers that the industry is in free fall, citing data published in early December, according to which 17% of restaurants, more than 110,000 units, have closed permanently or long-term since the beginning of the pandemic. Prosen is one of the 14 business owners awarded money so far.
Renowned donors to the fund include the New York Yankees, Winklevoss twins and Marcus Lemonis of CNBC’s The Profit. Portnoy also challenged other big names to donate to the fund, including Elon Musk, Tom Brady and Roger Goodell.
Portnoy said that because he went to jail for Tom Brady, he would like to see the defender donate his fund. He also challenged Roger Goodell, saying, “If he donates $ 250,000 for this, and the guy earns $ 40 million a year, by the way, if you donate $ 250,000 to this, I’ll match him with my money.” .
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