Social media post helps Durham restaurant avoid foreclosure

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The COPA restaurant in Durham got a new lease on life after posting online appeals for serious monetary support.

Owners Roberto Matos and Elisabeth Turnbull wrote on social media:

"We need your help. The pandemic, our now sky-high interest rate from our Small Business Association mortgage, and the sharp increase in the cost of doing business mean that we urgently need legal assistance to hold off foreclosure and continue to do our work of building community one meal at a time."

Turnbull said the interest rate on the loan soared while in-person dining dropped 25 percent at COPA, which prompted their public posts requesting help from their customers and supporters of locally owned restaurants.

"We opened COPA in 2018 and we have now 12 people (on their payroll) and we have been together, most of us, through the pandemic, through all the challenges of the pandemic," said Matos. "But now this is a new challenge and new hurdle, and it's been a very interesting journey for us because we have had to recreate and reinvent the wheel."

That journey began with their first farm-to-table restaurant, The Old Havana Sandwich Shop that operated in the space now occupied by Missy Lane's Assembly Room, a few blocks up Main Street from COPA.

"Before the pandemic, we used to serve easily close to 200 people a night. Now, it's a rare night that we serve more than 120 diners. So it's a big difference," Matos said. "But at the same time, we have to still be able to pay bills. And that only happens when we have a community that comes out regularly to eat."

Matos and Turnbull said the response to their social media appeal was massive, big enough to keep the doors open for now.

"I am overwhelmed, overwhelmed by how much love has been poured onto us and it is reflected in that in less than 24 hours, we received the funds that we said that we needed in order to continue moving forward," he said. "And that has been beautiful. One of the things that has been going through my mind is that in businesses and in capitalism, you're thinking about profits, and profits are measured by how much money you have left at the end of everything."

"But there is much more than profit. And this example of us putting an alarm out there for our community, and them coming to support us financially, also making sure that they came this last weekend to us, and tell us how much it matters to them that we exist, that we do what we do. It is another way to make sure what we small businesses do and how we contribute to their community. That they want to keep coming and keep supporting us."

They're working on ideas and adjustments to their business model that can help the restaurant stay afloat, like frozen prepared specialty meals that diners can heat up at home. It's their response to the current popular Door Dash meal delivery option that's embraced by many of their potential customers.

"Elizabeth and I believe that one of the main functions, missions of the independent restaurant industry is to be a place where we can all come together from all different backgrounds. From all different cultures and to socialize," said Matos. "We try to put out the best quality food, the best quality service, the best cocktails that we can produce. But one of the main results of that is that we come together as a community that we have a space to be together, that we have the experience of being together. And there is a risk that we may be losing that. I think in general in the country, the number of restaurants closing, independent restaurants closing, is larger than the ones that are being opened. And we need to be careful with that. I think that we need a conversation in our community and a national conversation about what's going on and what's happening."

Coincidentally, the lifeline for COPA arrived days before the start of Triangle Restaurant Week, when the community is encouraged to support locally-owned dining options.

"I know a lot of places were shut down, and walking around in Durham we're kind of sad that some of our favorite places went out of business," said Ashley Crosby as she and her husband, Matthew Ellis, strolled along Main Street. "So we definitely want to support local and shop small and make sure our community stays open."