Joe.My.God. LGBT News
In a moving New York Times video, Asheville-area gay bar owner Brandon Davis laments the destruction of his just-opened business, saying, “I had a dream come true and it lasted 32 days.” A GoFundMe drive has been launched by a friend on behalf of Davis and his partner:
Part of what makes this community so vibrant and wonderful are the small businesses that provide us with unique and fun places to come together.
And if you know Brandon and Davie, you know how much of their heart and soul went into creating their bar and coffee shop, DayTrip which just opened a little over a month ago.
They spent countless months and so much blood, sweat and tears renovating the space and realizing their dream of creating a cozy and quirky place for friends and neighbors to come and feel welcome. And it was that place for a sweet brief time.
But when Hurricane Helene hit Western N.C., DayTrip, along with so many other small businesses along the French Broad, was completely destroyed.
As everyone is trying to navigate through the slow process of insurance claims, the bills are still coming due, and the employees have no income until they rebuild.
Brandon and Davie used their life savings and took out a large business loan to get this dream of theirs started. In all, they put over $180,000 into this business and are now facing the daunting task of rebuilding from the ground up.
They need to pay their business loans and other bills and, in typical Brandon and Davie fashion, their first concern was their employees.
At this writing, the drive has raised just over $97,000. Watch the video. If the TikTok clip doesn’t play for you, the video is also on Instagram.
@nytimes We were with Brandon Davis when he returned to his business in Asheville, North Carolina, for the first time since Hurricane Helene devastated the area several days ago. #Helene #hurricane #Asheville #NorthCarolina ♬ original sound – The New York Times