BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - A restaurant that’s been serving our community for nearly 40 years is asking for a little help in return.
Elissa Borden stopped by the iconic Burlington eatery to get the story.
The Daily Planet has been a Burlington fan-favorite since 1982. So, when the restaurant went up for sale in 2019, the Solis’ were quick to jump on it. They closed the sale this past January.
“February was killer, I mean it was very exciting in the very beginning,” says co-owner Neil Solis.
And then, a pandemic.
”We were able to get the PPP but for other grants you need to have your 2019 tax returns and they won’t allow us to use the returns from a previous owner,” explains Rachel Solis.
The Daily Planet has now started a GoFundMe page. The goal is $50,000 -- just barely over a month’s worth of expenses, and about what they would have gotten from state grants.
And with just 10 percent of their normal revenue coming in, they’ll need it to get through the winter months.
“The community behind The Daily Planet had a lot of influence on why we wanted to get in this place and we were part of that before coming in. That’s what we were kind of hoping would be able to carry us through, being a long time local spot,” says Neil.
After posting the GoFundMe on a Facebook page, the eatery saw a significant boom in business this past weekend -- a welcome surprise for a hard working staff.
“Staffing for a restaurant is usually one of the biggest challenges but it’s not a problem we’ve had. Our staff is incredible. We’ve got people wanting to volunteer because we can’t pay full time and that’s a big thing looming over our head is just trying to give people the opportunity to work what they want to,” says Neil.
One of those staff members is Gabriana Whipple.
“It feels like being around a family and stuff, everyone just genuinely cares about you. It’s different than any restaurant I’ve worked at before,” says Whipple.
She was working over the busy weekend, and got a special thank you from one of her parties.
“As they were leaving, one of them came up and approached me and handed me this envelope,” she explains.
An $800 tip.
“And I didn’t really understand what she was saying at first just because I was like why is this woman handing me an envelope, with money in it? But then it finally clicked and I got kind of emotional,” Whipple says.
It was pooled and split between the front and back of house staff -- a sizable surprise in a time where kindness is needed most.
Whipple says her chunk of the tip will probably go towards rent.
WCAX did reach out to Meg Hershman, the tipper, for a comment.
She says, “It was something my family has been talking about doing since we saw it on Facebook last year. When we saw that the Daily Planet needed some support, we knew we had found the perfect time to try this. We all made a separate reservation and each brought a $100 bill for the gift at the end. My family owns a small, local business (the Village Scoop) so we’re especially aware of how challenging the year has been. If 2020 has taught us anything it’s to be kind, patient, and spread a little love wherever you go. We were so thrilled to be able to do that.”
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