UPPER WEST SIDE — While the doors to Jacob's Pickles remain closed, owners of the Southern-style eatery still have their arms open to the community.
The popular Upper West Side restaurant at 509 Amsterdam Ave. kicked off a month of fundraising for families displaced by the four-alarm fire that broke out in the next-door building on the evening of Feb. 24.
The blaze that ripped through the five-story structure at 511 Amsterdam Ave. injured six firefighters and one civilian and left 19 families without housing, CBS New York reported. Fire marshals said the incident was caused by an electrical cord extension, according to Patch.
Jacob's Pickles also sustained water damage during the fire. The restaurant has been closed since, while workers replace the floor, ceiling and electrical wiring, a spokesman said. It plans to open as soon as possible, he said.
Management has meanwhile established a GoFundMe campaign to raise a total of $10,000 in donations. As of Sunday afternoon, the campaign had collected a total of $2,910.
It will cap off its fundraising efforts with an event as its sister restaurant, Maison Pickle, on April 26 at 6 p.m.
The two-hour fundraiser will feature cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and speeches by City Council member Helen Rosenthal and Jacob's Pickles owner Jacob Hadjigeorgis, among others.
Tickets cost $100, or $135 if you want Jacob's Pickle swag.
Hadjigeorgis did not respond to request for comment on his fundraising initiatives.
The restaurant isn't the only neighborhood business to raise money on behalf of the fire's victims. Owners of e's Bar, which is located in the ground floor of the torched building and was also impacted by water damage, raised $12,635 through their own GoFundMe drive.
