Prospect Heights Vietnamese Cafe Struggles To Keep Doors Open
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A Vietnamese restaurant that opened late last year is struggling to stay open after a winter storm and the omicron surge, according to a new GoFundMe.
Owners of Coconana, found on Sixth Avenue between Bergen and Dean streets, are hoping to raise $35,000 after a difficult few months since opening in November, according to the fundraiser.
The money will help pay rent, payroll and suppliers for the cafe, which serves up a menu of Vietnamese lunch, pastries and coffee.
"...We really need support from all of you to sustain a healthy business and stay in the neighborhood for a longer time to come," owners, Hoa Nguyen and HanhUyen Nguyen, wrote.
Coconana is a longtime dream for the owners, who both immigrated from Vietnam more than a decade ago and met on a travel Facebook group, according to their website and the GoFundMe.
The women discovered after meeting up for udon noodles that they not only had the same last name — Nguyen — but the same dream to open a restaurant. The pair teamed up and built out the Sixth Avenue space themselves, their website notes.
"Our dream is to inspire residents with our authentic Vietnamese cuisines and bring our childhood memories to everyone in the neighborhood," the owners wrote on the fundraiser.
The Coconana fundraiser had raised just over $300 as of Wednesday morning.
It is one of several GoFundMe's that have popped up in Brooklyn as restaurants struggle to stay afloat during the recent surge in coronavirus cases. Recent fundraisers also include a comfort food eatery in Bed-Stuy, a Bedford Avenue coffee shop and a Crown Heights New Mexican spot, which is looking for a new home given its temporary lease.
Patch has reached out to Coconana for more details about their fundraiser and restaurant.
This article originally appeared on the Prospect Heights-Crown Heights Patch
