ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The staff at Kemoll's Chop House in St. Louis reached out for help and they couldn't believe it when their call was answered. Well actually, the restaurant owners are the ones who received a call.
The Barstool Fund, which has raised more than $32 million to help nearly 200 small businesses amid this COVID-19 pandemic just selected the historic St. Louis steakhouse to provide support to. Kemoll's, which recently moved from its downtown St. Louis location out to Westport, first opened in 1927 and was a hotspot for local sports figures and celebrities.
Kemoll's got word of their selection via the Barstool CEO's tradition of a FaceTime call. When they answered the call, they knew immediately what it meant.
"It's a good reaction," said Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports and creator of the Barstool fund. "That was like a big time reaction."
More than $5,000 is already headed Kemoll's way to support their staff and keep them in business through this tough year. You can continue to help Barstool reach their $20,000 goal for Kemoll's, here.
"I cannot thank you guys enough, it's seriously unbelievable what you're doing," said the woman who answered the Facetime. "I mean just all the people you've helped it's incredible. I'm going to call my uncle and I think he's going to cry his eyes out. My grandma is seriously going to lose her mind. We're going to make it to 100 years."
Kemoll's is also one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in the area, with the fifth generation of family members now working there, according to its website.
The way the Barstool fund works is that they don't just give a lump sum donation at once, they'll being supporting all the businesses they choose on a monthly basis to help keep them open.
"We got the story, we got the video about your steakhouse so we want to help out," Portnoy says in the video. "Steakhouses are one of the ones, I feel like, because they're not designed for takeout, especially old ones like you guys.
"We'll get everything you need and every month make sure you guys are alright."
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