“Yesterday a phone call changed my life,” said Prosen. “It made my Christmas Eve very special. I was very surprised, very honored to receive this money from Barstool.”
In her trade show submission video, Prosen admits her family business is struggling.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get so emotional, but this is my house. My employees are not just my employees. My employees are my family,” she said.
She submitted the video to the Barstool Fund to get financial aid for her struggling restaurant.
“It’s hard, it’s really hard. It’s scary. I mean, you know, I had a $ 68 sale last Sunday. Who survives a $ 68 sale? So it’s really scary,” said Prosen.
Despite the challenges of the past nine months, she has refused to close the payroll.
She was driving on Thursday when she got a call from Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, which recently founded Barstool Fund. The fund supports small businesses affected by shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, he has raised $ 5.9 million from 56,000 donors. Portnoy himself contributed $ 500,000 of his own money to the fund.
“We get thousands of emails,” he said. “The basic requirements we have: your payroll must be on. We don’t just want to help the entrepreneurs, we want to help the employees.”
Prosen was so overwhelmed by the news that she was going to get funding, she had to stop. Portnoy gives her $ 15,000 each month until her restaurant can open at full capacity.
“She’s someone with a long history of success, a loyal customer base,” he said. “Obviously, the restaurant is her life and to lose it like that through no fault of your own, those are the people you want to help.”
“This is huge. And I will be able to sleep better for the next few nights,” said Prosen.
The Barstool Fund was launched in conjunction with the non-profit 30 Day Fund. Portnoy got the idea to start the fund after New York City extended its ban on indoor dining. The National Restaurant Association believes the industry is in free-fall, citing data released in early December that 17% of restaurants, more than 110,000 establishments, have been closed permanently or long-term since the start of the pandemic. Prosen is one of 14 entrepreneurs who have received money so far.
Big names to the fund include the New York Yankees, the Winklevoss twins and Marcus Lemonis from “The Profit” on CNBC. Portnoy has also challenged other big names to donate to the fund, including Elon Musk, Tom Brady and Roger Goodell.
Portnoy said that because he was going to jail for Tom Brady, he would like to see the quarterback donate to his fund. He also challenged Roger Goodell, saying, “If he donates $ 250,000 to this, and the man makes $ 40 million a year by the way, if you donate $ 250,000 to this, I’ll multiply it by my own money.”
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