Lenders Announce More Sandy Relief At City Cafe

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs in the kitchen at It's-A-Wrap Cafe

A city cafe that became a haven for Superstorm Sandy victims was the location chosen by The Intersect Fund and Capital One Bank to announce ongoing disaster relief Monday.

Capital One Bank will give a $50,000 grant to the microlender Fund that is still working with businesses struggling to recover, said Daniel Delahanty, Senior Vice President for Community Development Banking. In addition, the bank will add $400,000 in low-interest loans for Sandy relief and other lending.

Rohan Mathew, president and CEO of The Intersect Fund, said his board met three weeks after the storm and decided unanimously to launch a loan program at reduced rates for people dealing with physical damage, spoiled inventory and flooded residences.

Cafe proprietor David Holmes III was one of the loan recipients. Just before the storm, he had renovated and refurbished the cafe on Park Avenue. But when a homeless man asked him where he could get something to eat once the storm passed, Holmes, known as "Chef D," decided to open the cafe to those in need. For ten days, he hosted about 250 city residents daily for breakfast and lunch. He bought extra power strips so people could charge cell phones and access the Internet.

Holmes said the emergency did away with distinctions of race and class and people just conversed and got to know each other as they enjoyed the warmth of the cafe. About 20 volunteers a day helped out.

"By day five, it was rough," he said. "We spent the night right here."

When the immediate storm ordeal passed, he had to renovate all over again and deal with his own loss. He had a loan from The Intersect Fund in one week, he said, and was able to reopen by Dec. 1.

David Holmes III, "Chef D," hosts Capital One Bank and The Intersect Fund representatives.

Officials from the Fund and Capital One Bank were obviously taken with Chef D's story and the warmth with which Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs welcomed them to the city. The audience included Chef D's father and grandfather, volunteers who helped during the storm, cafe staff and Chamber of Commerce President Jeffery Dunn.

A year after receiving his loan, Holmes said he has hired more employees, is expanding his business and has plans for a second location. 

According to a press release, since its beginning five years ago the The Intersect Fund has disbursed more than $1.2 million in microloans with a repayment rate of 98 percent. Mathew said 61 of 62 loans to Sandy victims were current. Besides Capital One Bank, Fund partners for Sandy recovery include the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, The Robin Hood Foundation and The Catholic Campaign for Human Development. For more information on The Intersect Fund, click here.

To see Plaintalker's November 2012 story on Chef D, click here.

--Bernice