SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash — Blissful Blends is stepping up to help the Spokane culinary community with a week-long fundraiser.
It's no secret that small businesses have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.
"We've made so many promises, 'We're opening this then,' or 'We're opening this time'," Kitty Cantina Owner Justyn Cozza said. "It's incredibly frustrating to make promises and have to back out of them."
Cozza is the owner of Kitty Cantina, a new Spokane cat café, that has struggled with getting a client base for their restaurant. They opened in May, making them ineligible for many of the city grants since they are under a year old.
This has made the past six months an uphill battle, he said.
While the restaurant industry has suffered during the pandemic, Blissful Blends coffee stand remained busy. Mission Avenue stand manager Taylor Holden's drive-thru location has partnered with Cozza for their Bliss Gives Back fundraiser.
"They just opened their business not too long ago, right at the beginning of all of the pandemic craziness," Holden said. "They had some setbacks and all that, so we're really excited to help them out."
Each of the five stand locations partnered with a different food and beverage business that has been negatively affected by the coronavirus and shutdowns.
"We really felt like, you know, this is the season of giving back, and so why not help other businesses who are struggling right now," said Blissful Blends General Manager Kierstyn Russell. "We are so thankful and grateful that we've never had to shut down or limit any kind of drive-thru customer capacity."
For every dollar donated, they will be matching the amount and giving the entirety of the money to the stand's respective restaurant.
"It could be anywhere from $10 to whatever, anything is going to be just so awesome just because of the thought," Cozza said.
Cozza added that it's especially humbling because Kitty Cantina also serves coffee.
"It's like our competition is supporting us, which it's heartwarming to have people actually care," he said.
The fundraiser goes from Dec.14 to Dec. 20, and Blissful Blends takes both cash and card donations.