Struggling restaurant, Ethiopian House and its owner, Mohamed Haddis, have both been saved after Manuela Araujo, a life-long friend of Mohamed, kick-started a GoFundMe page on his behalf.
Ethiopian House is one of Toronto's original and best loved Ethiopian restaurants. But, like many other small businesses during the pandemic, it has been struggling for a while. Not only that, Mohamed fell ill, unexpectedly, earlier this year. After going in for blood work, Mohamed was hospitalized and in need of emergency surgery, as doctors discovered one of his heart valves was infected.
As a result, he was forced to close his restaurant. In response to the news, Manuela set up the GoFundMe to raise money to cover both medical fees and the cost of keeping the restaurant afloat in anticipation of Mohamed's recovery.
Mohamed opened Ethiopian House in 1996 and has been serving authentic Ethiopian cuisine to the community ever since, so those who have experienced his food and hospitality wasted no time in expressing their love and support. Manuela says that Mohamed has received donations and well-wishes from all over Canada and that even some Ethiopian restaurants in the states found the GoFundMe. There's also a thread on Reddit supporting the fundraiser. Not only that, fellow Ethiopian restaurants across Toronto have put up posters on their premises to help spread the word.
Mohamed has always been a generous and well-loved member of the community. Manuela mentions a story about how he would serve students free meals who couldn't afford to buy groceries and of a couple whose criteria for an apartment included living within walking distance of Ethiopian House because of how much they loved it.
Mohammed runs the business himself; he has a couple of employees who help in the kitchen, but on a regular day, he's in there too, cooking for, serving and greeting his guests. "When you taste someone's cooking, you actually get a taste for the person," expressed Manuela, "because when you cook something, you cook it with love, and Mohammed really does."
Mohammed is aware and eternally grateful for all the support. He is doing well and is currently recovering in a rehab facility. As it stands, he is projected to leave sometime in May.
If you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so on his GoFundMe.
