“The situation has stabilized, but it will take a long time to recover all the debts we did not cause.”
A popular Vancouver restaurant is facing debt and is asking for the community’s help.
Cheryl Matthew, Owner Finch’s Tea House Address 353 West Pender St. and Finch’s Market located at 501 East Georgia Ave., has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $90,000 to cover its debts to the government.
“I threw it GoFundMe campaign Because it’s been one after the other for years,” Matthew told VIA by phone.
Matthew and her ex-girlfriend started their own business (including 90 percent of the physical renovations) and opened Finch’s in West Pender in 2004. Over the years, things went well and the sandwich shop became a fine establishment. local staple; during busy lunch hours, there was often a line out the door for hours.
However, Matthew, who now owns the business alone, says that in recent years there have been constant outside influences that have hurt the business financially and physically.
“The bottom line is that Mr. Finch was perfectly fine before COVID-19,” she said.
Among the issues Matthew cites are constant vandalism, rising food prices, rising labor costs, urban construction, government loans granted during the pandemic, and the growth of DTES.
Vandalism costs business tens of thousands of dollars
Most recently, a window at the original location was broken when someone walked by during lunch service on Saturday, December 9th. It was the ninth time windows have been broken in the past 18 months. Police have obtained a photo of the suspect and are working to identify him.
“This window was the last straw,” Matthew says.
Mr. Finch does not have window insurance. This is because, until recently, the cost of insurance was more than the cost of a broken window.
“It’s a strange thing to do to cause $1,000 or $2,000 worth of property damage to someone you don’t know and have no problem with,” Matthew said. “You have to make $10,000 or $20,000 to have the money to clear it.”
She added that when trying to sell high-quality food at an affordable price, it’s hard to do.
Finch’s is known for its menu of baguette sandwiches loaded with cheese, vegetables, and prosciutto, artfully presented and served in a cozy, shabby-chic style cafe atmosphere.
“I’m a single mother who runs a business.”
Matthew said he understood that the perpetrators of the recent window-breaking incidents may have been unwell, but the majority of window-breaking incidents occurred around 2:30 a.m., when bars and pubs had closed for the night. Point out that it’s happening.
Business owners call acts of vandalism “aggressive” given the fact that the perpetrators are strangers.
And Pender’s location isn’t the only problem. Just a few days after she repainted some of her exterior herself, someone at the market wrote: taxi With a 6 foot letter.
“They didn’t miss a single piece of wood. It took forever to sand it down again,” Matthew says. “What does this have to do with the police? I’m just a single mother running a business.”
At the same time, acid etching, where chemicals are used to etch tags into glass, has become a bigger problem. It cannot be washed off and leaves ugly marks, patterns and writing on the glass.
Roadworks and displacement of homeless locals add to challenges
Vandalism is not the only factor. Homer Street, right next door to Pender’s Finch’s, has been under construction for more than a year. Matthew notes that some of the items from the site went through her window.
“It was a mess,” she says.
She said she hadn’t had a job for months, and recalled that when she spoke to the city about it, she was told there was a limited number of street workers in the city.
Ongoing road construction is expanding Vancouver’s unhoused population from the heart of the DTES to the Finch neighborhood westward. Matthew testified that staff members regularly have to wake up people sleeping in the front door to open the cafe in the morning.
“These are sad, desperate people who need help,” Matthew says. “It’s not their fault, but it’s literally on our doorstep.”
Pandemic issues include loan repayments
Like many small food service businesses, Finch’s faced many challenges during the pandemic that began in March 2020.
Due to government restrictions, loan providedMr. Finch followed the rules.
“I needed a loan because the government shut down everyone,” she explains. “Normally you have to do something to get into debt, right? Something like making a bad decision, taking the wrong job, gambling… something.”
But now that loan is coming due and the company faces debt. She had some savings, but she didn’t have enough.
“I think the government program was well-intentioned, but it had a devastating impact on small businesses,” Matthew said.
The restrictions, Matthew explains, have affected people’s habits as restaurants open, close and change service.
“I remember two times in the first few years when things first started to pick up,” she says. “Then, as governments announce new increases in cases, new variants and impose new restrictions, our case numbers will plummet again.”
It broke with the community habits she had spent nearly 20 years building. Now, on any given day, the number of customers varies greatly.
“One day is either half or twice as busy as the next,” she says. “How do we staff up for that?”
Inflation and other issues
“That was followed by inflation, particularly food and employee inflation, and the housing crisis also caused the cost of living to rise significantly,” Matthew explains.
Between the two Finches, they have 18 employees, most of them full-time.
She points out that Finch’s has built a brand on affordable items such as sandwiches while using high-quality ingredients, but it’s becoming difficult to maintain that brand.
Matthew said the health of his family also played a role in Finch’s situation. She has twins and her daughter has had to be hospitalized twice in the past few years at BC Children’s Hospital while her son has recently dealt with issues from concussions.
At the same time, Mr. Finch also plays a role in his family.
“Finch is what I do to be a good parent. That’s why I’m so careful about everything,” she says. “The better we run Finches, the better we can support our families.”
Debt-stricken owner launches crowdfunding campaign
“I stabilized the situation, but we had to dig out all the debt we didn’t cause,” says Matthew. “That takes a lot of time.”
She takes on additional jobs to keep things going, but is having trouble earning enough extra income to pay off her debts.
So she launched a GoFundMe earlier this week asking for $90,000 in donations from the community to keep things going. As of publication, more than $10,000 has been raised.
“This has been very helpful and we are very grateful. We are really grateful to all the kind people who have made Finches happy for us over the years and who are willing to help us now.” she says.
Video: Check out the sandwiches at Finch’s in downtown Vancouver
@forkingawesomevia Our search for the best sandwich spots in Vancouver continues with a visit to Finch’s downtown. They are known for their absolutely beautiful baguette sandwiches filled with fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese, and prosciutto. A classic menu for sandwich fans! #forkisamazing #vancouverbc #VancouverGourmet #sandwichsoftiktoku 🎙️@LindsayWR ♬ Make It Better (Instrumental) – Anderson .Paak
With additional reporting by Lindsay William Ross
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