A Downtown Brooklyn restaurant known for their Afro-Caribbean cuisine and tropical cocktails is fighting to keep its doors open after falling on hard times following the pandemic.  

Amarachi staff says they’ve been struggling to fill the restaurant since the pandemic began and still has yet to pick up, to the point that the owner has considered shutting the place down.  

Joe Amarachi opened the restaurant in 2014, and eight years later says he’s in a position he never expected to be in. He says that 2022 sales were down at least 50% compared to 2021, and as a result, he had to cut his staff by over half.  

He says he’s applied for multiple restaurant relief loans and grants but is still struggling to get by.  

“There is no help, and that’s why we had to go to the community,” said Joe Amarachi. “We’ve just run out of resources.” 

Restaurant owners in a similar position can access resources from the Department of Small Business Services, including grants, loans, and options to refinance existing high-interest debt.  

Click here to get a closer look at the available resources.