(CNN) – The owner of a Toronto bar says his business will survive the coronavirus epidemic, thanks to loyal customers who bought his entire beer stock, giving him the much-needed cash he needed.
Abra Shiner opened her own bar, Swan Dive, five years ago in the Brockton Village neighborhood of Toronto, Canada. After she was forced to close the door after the Covid-19 bans, Shiner decided to ask her community for help via Facebook.
“We were making our savings and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pay the rent at the end of the month,” Shiner told CNN. “So, I wrote on Facebook asking people to come to the stock room to buy our beer … and it went on. The post went viral.”
In just two days, the post had over 20,000 views and people from the entire community showed up to Swan Dive to show their support.
“People started coming out of wooden sticks, some people we haven’t seen in years,” Shiner said.
Swan Dive carries 35 craft beers and usually keeps two or three cases of each beer in stock. Shiner says she was able to sell more than 90 cases and now she has only two.
“Our community saved us completely,” Shiner said.
She says the money from the sale of beer, along with a federal rental subsidy, will keep the business afloat until it reopens safely in March.
.
