07/11/2024
We appreciate your comments and support and completely understand your frustration. Over the past three years, we've continually improved our food, working tirelessly every single day.
Since the parking garage closed, traffic has dropped drastically at Boba Yaga, resulting in an average 30% decrease in business. The minimum wage of $15 per hour is very expensive for a small business. However, having worked minimum to low-wage jobs ourselves, we strive to support our staff as much as possible and pay them competitively to retain our valuable employees.
Most of the items on our menu are made from scratch to ensure the highest quality, which increases costs. Unfortunately, we don't have enough foot traffic to benefit from bulk preparation.
We are committed to sustainability, recycling, and composting, even though these practices add to our labor costs. We use glassware in the restaurant because we are passionate about fair wages, environmental conservation, and preserving our planet's resources.
A couple of summers ago, we faced threatening calls, fueled by hate against our employees and ourselves, which made us feel unsafe.
Boba Yaga is a business, and we didn’t realize we could simply ask for support until a few months ago. Despite our efforts to keep Boba Yaga open during tough times, the water heater breakdown was a setback that we couldn't recover from. While the GoFundMe campaign was a success, raising $3,500, it wasn't enough to cover the cost of a new water heater and installation.
Main Street is home to many beautiful and established restaurants, and we couldn't live up to simply because we don't serve alcohol. We cherish every person who visits Boba Yaga to chat, order drinks, and play board games, forming a close-knit community.
As we prepare to close, we are committed to maintaining the quality of our food and drinks. Our next goal is to save enough funds to keep our equipment and inventory, allowing us to reopen in a new location in a few months.
This decision was not made lightly. It involved months of managing funds, adjusting orders, working extra hours, and seeking help from friends and family. We are as heartbroken as you are, having believed our troubles would end once the water heater was fixed.
We thank you so much for being so invested in Boba Yaga.
