Despite the June 19 fire that forced Café Moxo to close indefinitely, owner Mark Forinash said the restaurant’s 18 employees still have a job, although their duties will change for the time being.
“Our goal is to keep every employee on staff,” Forinash said. “We are 100% taking care of our employees; that’s non-negotiable for my wife, Shawna, and I. These are the people who make downtown what it is.”
Forinash said city inspectors and structural engineers are still determining the extent of the damage to his building at 411 E. Adams, which shares a wall with 413-415 E. Adams, where the fire started.
“We’re going to know more over the next 10-14 days,” said Forinash, who noted that even if the building can be repaired it will be a long process. “We’re looking to find a temporary location in the meantime.”
He’s already found temporary office space for himself on Adams Street so that he has a place to meet with city officials and others, and Forinash said he’s decided that he and his staff will focus on helping nonprofits and doing community outreach until they have a kitchen to begin cooking again.
“We’re going to use those hours that were traditionally used in the restaurant to work at the Breadline, St. Martin de Porres, Washington Street Mission,” he said. “We’ll go around downtown and pick up trash and remove graffiti or paint, do things to really help out the city. There’s no reason why we can’t use this time efficiently. We’re going to put our people to work; these guys need something to do.”
Forinash said that despite all the unknowns, he doesn’t want to “just sit around waiting for things to happen. …We’re going to make an impact the only way we know how, which is through a happy mouth that’s smiling.”
The law firm of Brown Hay & Stephens LLP, located on the 10th floor of the U.S. Bank building downtown, is hosting an envelope party at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, to benefit Café Moxo and its employees.
Another envelope party is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2, at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Meadowbrook Road.
Find more information about this and other events to benefit the Adams Family businesses impacted by the fire:
https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/EventSearch?keywords=adams+family&sortType=date&v=d
