What would be your priority if your small business had just been devastated by a Covid-19 shutdown? If you ask Roopa and Venkata Mosuganti, the answer is obvious.
Help others.
Their Jai Ho Royale Indian Cuisine restaurant in Tampa, Florida, was like many others in 2020 – on the verge of collapsing because of the coronavirus. After 10 years in business, they were forced to furlough staff and drain their savings to keep the restaurant afloat.
Even in the midst of a crisis, they paid attention to the needs of others in the Tampa area. They donated hot meals for health care workers at a local retirement home, and also for mothers with babies in the neonatal ICU at the General Hospital.
After three months of being shut down, Roopa and Venkata were allowed to open their doors again. What a relief to parents of a 10-month-old son. But that glimmer of hope was snuffed out in just 24 hours. The very next night, their strip mall was targeted by rioters and looters.
Arson fires to three nearby stores knocked out the power to the shopping center, causing the restaurant’s food inventory to be destroyed. Food trolleys and serving bowls were stolen. Their expenses, including rent, loss of produce, and lost revenue totaled $30,000.
“We are broken and shattered,” Roopa said. “It’s just so much to handle one thing after the other. I’m not sure what tomorrow holds.”
They were close to giving up. But that’s when friends and customers set up a GoFundMe page to get the restaurant back in business. More than $10,000 was donated, enough to give Roopa and Venkata the same kind of hope that they had delivered to others.
“Buildings can be replaced but lives cannot. With the support of our community, I am hopeful our restaurant will be able to recover,” Roopa said. “We are grateful for the outpouring of love everyone has given us during this time.”
Their doors were able to open once more. And what did the Mosugantis do? Help others, of course. They decided to donate their inventory of food – purchased for their first weekend back in business – to churches and nonprofits.
In good times and bad, they loved their neighbors. Not even a year like 2020 would cause them to make an exception.
– Ed Doney, Writer/Videographer
