Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published February 25, 2025 5:00 AM
Rebecca Latta, an arborist, examines the scorched trunk of a tree.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Topline:
After losing their homes in the Eaton Fire, many displaced Altadena residents are now worried they’ll lose their trees.
The effort: A group of Altadenans called Altadena Green is scrambling to save as many viable trees as they can while Phase 2 of debris cleanup picks up.
The issue: Experts with Altadena Green say the debris removal process threatens to take down trees that could recover with a little time and care. Residents have a say in whether to preserve trees in many cases.
Read on ... for more on the group and how to save trees on your property.
After losing their homes in the Eaton Fire, many displaced Altadena residents are now worried they’ll lose their trees too.
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3:43
After the Eaton Fire, this group is working to save Altadena’s surviving trees
That’s why a group of Altadenans, called Altadena Green, are scrambling to save as many viable trees as they can while Phase 2 of debris cleanup picks up and threatens to take down many more trees that could possibly recover with a little time and care.
What remains of Wynne Wilson's home in Altadena.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Part of Altadena’s soul
Wynne Wilson’s home was also her show space. A garden designer, the 30-year Altadena resident’s yard was full of fire-resistant plants and beautiful trees, including a 100-year-old gnarled olive tree, toyons, coast live oaks and Canary Island pines. Wilson said thousands of people have visited her home's garden over the last 15 years for tours and gardening education.
Wilson’s home burned down in the Eaton Fire. Many of her trees are charred, but will likely survive if given the chance. Wilson said saving these trees is akin to saving Altadena’s soul.
It's rare to talk to an Altadenan that doesn't say, ‘I'm here because of the community and the trees.'"
— Wynne Wilson, Altadena resident
“It's rare to talk to an Altadenan that doesn't say, ‘I'm here because of the community and the trees,’” Wilson said. "We are really conscious about the tree canopy of Altadena — they're beloved to Altadena.”
Wilson walked her property on a recent morning with Stephanie Landregan, the director of the landscape architecture and horticulture programs at UCLA Extension, and arborist Rebecca Latta.
Wynne Wilson, left, an Altadena resident examines an olive tree with Stephanie V. Landregan, director of the UCLA Extension program on landscape architecture.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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As officials rush to clean up and rebuild, they said cutting down trees that could recover during debris cleanup has become yet another trauma for residents.
“Residents are upset and angry and a little freaked out because they don't understand what's going to happen exactly,” said Latta, who runs her own business as an arborist and is a former forester for the city of Pasadena.
Wynne Wilson's garden pre-Eaton Fire
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Courtesy Wynne Wilson
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That’s why Latta, along with Landregan and Wilson, founded Altadena Green. Their goal is to assess trees already marked for removal, educate homeowners and save as many trees as they can.
“The trees here are so critical to the character of the place,” Latta said. “If you lose all of these trees, it's going to really radically change the way that this place feels and looks.”
And removing those trees can worsen urban heat islands going forward, Latta worries.
"If we lose that many trees in Altadena, it's going to change the climate,” Latta said. “It's going to cause us to have heat islands that we've never had before.”
Scorched branches on Wynne Wilson's property in Altadena.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Stephanie V. Landregan, program director at UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture, visits a burn site in Altadena on Feb. 5, 2025, where vegetation is already starting to grow.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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As debris removal continues, Altadena Green is racing to save the community's surviving trees. The mission is personal.
“We run with this low level of angst all the time,” said Latta. “It’s this idea that you can’t protect your trees without someone taking them down without your permission.”
For many, the surviving greenery is a symbol of hope, a reminder that after devastation, life returns.
"The biggest thing we have right now is resilience, and to have a tree still is huge," Wilson said. "Gardens are all about seasons and time, and this is a tough time, and we're going to have a better time."
Wynne Wilson, an Altadena resident, habitat conservationist, and garden designer, picks up a burned page she found in the remnants of her garden which was destroyed and burned down in the Eaton Fire.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Who’s in charge of the trees?
L.A. County said it’s working to preserve as many public trees as possible — the Public Works Department manages some 9,500 trees along parkways in Altadena.
In a statement to LAist, the agency said it's taken over assessment of those trees and is “developing a process that would allow even more of these at-risk trees to be saved by working directly with community members.”
But the Army Corps of Engineers is in charge of clearing private property — that’s why those blue markings on trees are cropping up. During Phase 1, the EPA marked trees with white spray paint, but did not remove trees themselves, according to a spokesperson. The Corps of Engineers is using blue paint.
A spokesperson for the Corps of Engineers told LAist that homeowners who opted in to the free debris removal program have the option to ask that trees not be removed on their property, but if it's not removed by the Corps' contractors during debris removal, ash property owners will have to pay for the tree to be taken down if it is ultimately determined it won’t recover.
Trees within the "ash footprint" of a burned home — determined when contractors assess the site and defined as the immediate area around a burnt home where ash settled — are slated to be removed no matter what for those who have opted into the government debris removal program.
From left, Stephanie V. Landregan, program director at UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture, Wynne Wilson, an Altadena resident, habitat conservationist, and garden designer, and Rebecca Latta, an arborist, assess a scorched olive tree on Feb. 5, 2025.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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A mature olive tree on Wynne Wilson's property.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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But Altadena Green’s founders said the communication to residents has been confusing and insufficient.
Already, Latta said they’ve found trees that are improperly identified by the Corps of Engineers, or marked for removal despite being far from a home’s foundation and having the potential to recover in a couple of years.
“If you're looking at a tree and you think it's a hazard, you may not know for a couple of months whether those trees are going to come back or not,” Latta said. "Part of my goal is to try to figure out how to ask that these contractors follow the standards that are established for our industry, both for the inspection and identification of hazard trees.”
The Army Corps of Engineers told LAist all trees are assessed by an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ), and that not all marked trees will be removed — only those determined hazardous to crews or infrastructure, or that are determined to be dead or likely to die within five years.
"We understand that trees are an important part of the landscape and hold deep personal, cultural and environmental significance for many in the community," Corps of Engineers spokesperson Susan Lee wrote in an email to LAist. "That's why our approach prioritizes saving as many trees as possible while ensuring public safety and the success of debris removal operations."
The Corps of Engineers did not provide specific details to LAist about contractors hired for tree assessments.
"If a homeowner ... wishes to save a tree, we carefully evaluate whether it can be preserved safely without interfering with the recovery process," Lee wrote.
Altadena Green and other residents are calling for independent, local arborists to take the lead on tree assessment and to help homeowners navigate whether trees need to be removed.
Rebecca Latta, an arborist, examines the scorch on a tree on Feb. 5, 2025.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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How to save your trees
Here’s what the symbols on your trees mean and what you can do if you want to prevent a tree from being removed on your property.
The Army Corps of Engineers said it uses state-certified foresters to mark trees for potential removal. Those trees are marked with three blue dots and a barcode. Trees are deemed hazardous if they are dead, or if there’s a risk of them dying within five years. Trees are also subject to removal if they are determined to be dangerous to debris cleanup crews.
If you have marked trees you want to keep, here's how you can try to save them:
Tell the Army Corps of Engineers contractors in person when they walk your property with you.
Attach a signed retention notice to each tree (keep in mind the contractor will also want to confirm with the property owner in person and may still cut the tree down if they determine it a danger)
You can update your Right of Entry application form identifying trees you'd like to preserve and email ROE@pw.lacounty.gov with the update.
You can opt out of the free government debris removal program and hire other companies to assess your trees and remove debris.
An Army Corps of Engineers graphic depicts how trees flagged for removal will be tagged.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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Arborists with Altadena Green caution that some trees may look worse than they are.
Species such as Canary Island pine, carob, redwood, sycamore, coast live oak "and other corky barked oaks can take quite a bit of scorch damage and recover,” according to the organization’s website.
“I think it's worth it to just wait a couple months and see how it's doing instead of removing it prematurely, especially if it's a hundred-year-old tree,” said arborist and Altadena Green volunteer Jonathan Flournoy.
Trees and fire
Though many people think trees are a major fire hazard (and some can be, such as eucalyptus, acacia and other easily flammable plants), the Eaton and Palisades fires were primarily spread by embers catching buildings on fire, then spreading from building to building.
If properly spaced from ahome, many native and fire-resistant trees may actually help slow fire spread. Native trees, for example, such as coast live oaks, are extremely fire-adapted and likely to survive and recover after a fire.
He recommends that residents consult with an arborist before mature trees are removed — Altadena Green has put together a list.
You can also do an initial test of your trees’ health by seeing if the tree is alive under charred bark on the surface. Use a simple blade to check the wood under the burned bark.
”You have the outer bark, which is dead, which is a protective layer, and then going further in, you have the inner bark, which is alive, and it's wet, and it conducts sugars up and down the trunk,” Flournoy explained. “So basically, you want to make sure that there's at least some live bark there.”
A Compton-born coffee pop-up thrives in a Guisados
By Isaac Ceja | The LA Local
Published May 8, 2026 8:00 AM
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, poses for a portrait at Guisados in Pasadena.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where owner Pablomanuel Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees.
About the drinks: Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries.
The backstory: The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea.
Just inches away from where workers warm up handmade tortillas at Guisados in Pasadena, Pablomanuel Maldonado puts the finishing touches on different drinks before calling out to his customers.
“Provecho,” Maldonado, owner of coffee pop-up the Caffeinated Cart, says to each customer before quickly redirecting his attention to the next, treating each one like he’s known them for years.
Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees.
Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries.
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, prepares a Cereal Killer at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Though he’s only been operating at this location for the past three weeks, small touches — like Virgen de Guadalupe candles, a new coffee blend from local roaster Picaresca and a shiny new drink menu on the wall — make his corner of the restaurant feel welcoming.
“For the first time, I don’t feel tired. I feel mentally at peace, and it’s like, ‘Damn, this is what I love doing,’ you know?” Maldonado told The LA Local. “I get excited to come here. I get excited to get out of bed.”
Maldonado recently transitioned from working full-time at Bristol Farms during the week and doing coffee pop-ups on weekends to serving coffee full-time at Guisados.
The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea.
Only a couple of years after he started, Maldonado was selling out at the pop-ups. Today, he has over 23,000 followers on Instagram.
Maldonado’s partnership with Guisados began in 2025 via an Instagram story when owner Armando De La Torre Jr. put out a call for coffee pop-ups at his Guisados location in Long Beach.
A photo illustration of the Caffeinated Cart’s most popular drink the Cereal Killer, a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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After connecting with De La Torre, Maldonado began popping up outside the Long Beach location for six months. But Maldonado said permitting issues with the city’s Health Department forced him to stop.
Nearly a year after their initial collaboration, De La Torre invited Maldonado to Pasadena to show off the space he had in mind for him, but the Caffeinated Cart owner had mixed emotions.
Maldonado was concerned about going to Pasadena and leaving behind the community and regular customers he had in Long Beach, but he was excited by the idea of finally having a physical space, even if it wasn’t completely his own.
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, hugs his former boss who visited him at his new coffee residency at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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“We’re in a world where… everybody gatekeeps and then everybody stops each other from growing, and coffee’s been so welcoming, man,” Maldonado said. “The community I’ve built around me has just been so welcoming, and a lot of people just truly do trust us.”
Leo Abularach, co-owner of Picaresca in Boyle Heights, has been a longtime supporter of the Caffeinated Cart. He told The LA Local that he loaned Maldonado over $3,000 worth of equipment to help him get started. Abularach even let him use his business delivery service, so Maldonado would no longer have to run to the store for things like extra milk.
“He has always been there for Picaresca. He is part of our family,” Abularach said of Maldonado. “He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and I think his personality is one of the reasons why people love the Caffeinated Cart.”
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, pours coffee beans into a grinder at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Customers Adriana Acevedo and Eilene Gonzalez saw the Caffeinated Cart on TikTok. When they realized it was around the corner from their workplace, they decided to give it a try.
“It’s amazing. It tastes really good. Like, no notes. Amazing,” Acevedo said after finally trying the coffee in real life on a recent Wednesday morning.
“Yeah, for first timers, now I think we’re going to be returners,” Gonzalez added with a laugh.
Pablomanuel Maldonado, right, talks with customers Adriana Acevedo, left, and Eilene Gonzalez, centert, at the Caffeinated Cart inside of Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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The two praised the welcoming service offered by Maldonado, and after Acevedo mentioned she loves caffeine, Maldonado even gave her an additional shot.
“I’m all about making it affordable. I don’t charge extra for alternative milks. You want extra shots? Bro, get extra shots. I’m not going to charge you extra,” Maldonado said.
“We’re all for the people,” he said. “We want to make sure people can still come back and not have to feel like ‘Was the $7 coffee worth it?’”
Though it was only a Wednesday, customers kept trickling in, keeping him busy throughout his shift, and even Maldonado’s old boss from Bristol Farms, Dina Urquilla, came to support.
Maldonado said he’s still saving to open up his own shop in the future, but for now, he says he looks forward to making coffee every day in his corner of Pasadena.
A view of some of the trinkets at the Caffeinated Cart inside of Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
Warnings and advisories: Extreme Heat Watch Sunday morning through Tuesday evening in Coachella Valley
What to expect: Some morning clouds followed by a sunny afternoon. Temperatures to reach the mid-80s for some areas and up into the triple digits in some parts of Coachella Valley.
Read on ... for where it's going to be the warmest today.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Sunny, partly cloudy some areas
Beaches: Mid-60s to low 70s
Mountains: Mid-70s to low 80s
Inland: 82 to 89 degrees
Warnings and advisories: Extreme Heat Watch Sunday morning through Tuesday evening in Coachella Valley
Warm temperatures are on tap again today as we head into a toasty weekend with temps set to reach the triple digits in desert communities.
L.A. County beaches will see daytime highs from 67 to 72 degrees. It'll be between 69 and 76 degrees along the Orange County coast. More inland areas like downtown L.A., Hollywood and Anaheim will see temperatures from 75 to 81 degrees.
Meanwhile, the valleys will see varying temperatures. Areas closer to the coast will see highs from 78 to 83 degrees, and further inland, temps will stay in the upper 80s, up to 89 degrees.
Meanwhile in Coachella Valley, temperatures will rise to 101 to 106 degrees.
Looking ahead to the weekend, the valleys will reach the 90s for Mother's Day, up to 100 degrees in the Antelope Valley too. Come Sunday, an Extreme Heat Warning kicks in for the Coachella Valley, where temperatures will stay in the low 100s, with up to 109 degrees possible. Make sure to stay hydrated!
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Before today, the D Line ran until Koreatown, largely parallel to the B Line.
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AURELIA VENTURA
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Topline:
The first phase of the Los Angeles Metro D Line extension opens today, with the public able to start riding to the three new stations at 12:30 p.m.
The new stops: The three new Wilshire Boulevard stops are located at La Brea and Fairfax avenues and La Cienega Boulevard. The first phase of the extension will stretch D Line service from downtown L.A. to Beverly Hills. Before today, the D Line ran until Koreatown, largely parallel to the B Line.
Free fares: The entire Metro system — including bus, rail, bike share and Metro Micro — will be free starting Friday morning through early morning Monday. If you’re using Metro Bike Share, make sure to input the code 050826.
Celebrations at the new stations: KCRW DJs and food vendors will be at each of the new stations and the Western Avenue station in Koreatown. Throughout May and June, there will be activations at the new stations, including salsa dancing and basket weaving classes.
More to come: Two additional extensions of the D Line, currently forecast to open in 2027, will add four additional stations through Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood Village.
Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published May 8, 2026 5:00 AM
Jessica Wang (center) stands with her mother, Peggy (left), and father, Willie Wang (right), at the Gu Grocery storefront in Chinatown.
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Daniel Nguyen
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Courtesy Gu Grocery
)
Topline:
Jessica Wang has been waiting nearly two years for the City of Los Angeles to approve permits for Gu Grocery, a Chinese-Taiwanese grocery store and community hub in Chinatown.
Why it matters: In a neighborhood where half of residents are low-income and one in five are seniors 65 and older, Chinatown has lost multiple grocery stores in recent years — including its last two full-service markets in 2019 and Yue Wa Market in fall 2024. Gu Grocery would be the first to offer EBT-eligible prepared foods, filling a critical gap for seniors and low-income families who rely on walking to shop.
Why now: Wang launched a GoFundMe campaign in mid-April after spending more than $200,000 on a buildout, permits and rent on a space she can't operate. The community response was swift — 134 donors raised nearly $12,000 in two weeks — but money can't solve her core problem: she's still waiting for at least seven final city inspections with no opening date in sight.
What's next: Wang hopes to open by Father's Day — her general contractor dad's birthday — with a phased approach: prepared foods only through a takeout window, then slowly stocking shelves as revenue allows.
Jessica Wang has experienced delay after delay for nearly two years as she tried to open Gu Grocery in Chinatown. Her father, a contractor, had told her it would take nine months.
Instead, she says, there have been issues with city permits, inspectors, inaccurate information, illness and wayward appliance installers which have pushed things back.
The community didn't take nearly as long. In two weeks, 134 donors contributed nearly $12,000 to keep Wang afloat. But money can't solve her problem — she still needs the city's approval to open the doors.
Wang signed the lease at the end of 2023, envisioning a Chinese-Taiwanese grocery store and community hub where seniors could use EBT to buy fresh tofu, where kids from nearby elementary schools could stop by after class, and where her mother, Peggy, could teach neighbors how to make their grandmother's pickles.
Now, more than two years into a five-year lease, and nearly out of money after paying for permits, buildout, and rent on a space she can't operate, Wang launched a GoFundMe campaign a few weeks ago. The response showed the community believes in Gu Grocery and wants to see it succeed. But she's still waiting for at least seven final inspections by the city before she can open.
The story of Gu
The name "Gu" carries layered meaning: the character 菇 means "mushroom" in Chinese, a traditional symbol of prosperity, while the sound "gu" also means "auntie" in Mandarin — honoring intergenerational caretakers. Wang's mission for the space is to provide a place to purchase Chinese-Taiwanese pantry staples and prepared foods, and to host community workshops.
The communal aspect is central to Wang's vision of social entrepreneurship, not solely focused on profit. In addition to workshops, Gu Grocery plans to accept EBT and offer senior discounts for those on fixed incomes.
"I wanted a space where I could share knowledge and share culture and also just learn from the community," Wang said.
Ultimately, she hopes to convert the store into a worker-owned co-op.
Wang grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and worked as a pastry chef at San Francisco's State Bird Provisions before a pre-diabetic diagnosis at age 29 prompted her return to L.A. She began volunteering with API Forward Movement, a local nonprofit focused on health equity and food access in AAPI communities, and saw firsthand the need during COVID food distributions at L.A. State Historic Park.
Chinatown had lost its last two full-service grocery stores in 2019.Last fall, the neighborhood lost another: Yue Wa Market, a small produce shop that had served residents for 18 years before rising rent and pandemic losses forced it to shut its doors. The closures hit especially hard in a neighborhood where, according to American Community Survey data, half of the residents are low-income and one in five are seniors 65 and older — many of whom rely on walking to shop.
Jessica Wang (center, in black) and her mother Peggy (left, in white and red) smile while serving customers at a farmer's market pop-up for Gu Grocery.
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Daniel Nguyen
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Courtesy Gu Grocery
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Permitting woes
Much of bringing Gu Grocery to reality has been made possible by support from Wang's friends and family. Her father, Willie Wang, serves as her general contractor. When plans were submitted to the city in March 2024, he told her the buildout would take nine months if everything went smoothly.
Instead, she’s experienced delays from all directions, from slow bureaucracy, to issues with contractors. A hood installation contractor rescheduled multiple times, she said, then doubled his price the day before a rescheduled appointment. Drywall contractors said their workers had been detained by ICE and never returned.
The process hasn't just taken time — it's been expensive. One inspector approved a makeup air unit for the kitchen hood system, she said, only to have a senior inspector overturn the decision and order a complete replacement at nearly $6,000. Her father paid out of pocket — even as he was recovering from March surgery to remove a cancerous lung growth.
"Who would have thought that something an inspector asked us to do would be completely overturned by another inspector?" Wang said. "That's just so wild."
LAist has reached out to the city's Department of Building Services for comment but has not heard back.
The financial toll
Wang estimates she's spent more than $200,000 so far — more than $100,000 on buildout and permits alone, plus a full year of rent on a space she can't operate, equipment, insurance and taxes.
She draws no income from Gu Grocery. To cover personal expenses, she teaches fermentation workshops through her other business, Picklepickle, though that work has been inconsistent lately. Her health insurance doubled this year. The GoFundMe money, she said, is a "rainy day fund" in case she needs it to pay future bills.
The financial strain has touched her entire family. Her mother, who received a small inheritance when Wang's grandparents died, got scammed late last year trying to grow that money to help with the store. Targeted through online ads, she was convinced by an "investment tutor" based in Taiwan to hand over cash to a stranger in a parking lot.
"I didn't realize this would become part of what it's like to have aging parents in the age of technology," Wang said. "But it's scary how they get targeted."
Black sesame noodles from Gu Grocery's popup menu. Wang uses black sesame for higher nutritional value and plans to offer the dish as one of the prepared foods when the store opens.
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Aunty J
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Courtesy Gu Grocery
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Rice balls with house pickles from a Gu Grocery pop-up. Wang has been teaching fermentation and pickling workshops for 15 years and plans to serve pickles alongside all meals when the store opens.
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Aunty J.
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Courtesy Gu Grocery
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Addressing Chinatown's needs
Once Gu Grocery opens, it won't operate as a full-service market — there won't be a meat counter. Instead, it will function like a corner store with a focus on healthy prepared foods: butter mochi, sesame noodles and daily congee.
"Something that Chinatown has never had was prepared food that is EBT eligible," Wang said.
In 2020, Wang surveyed seniors through API Forward Movement's Tai Chi fitness program to understand their shopping habits following the closure of local grocery stores. Many told her they now ride the bus to Super King on San Fernando Road in Glendale, nearly 5 miles away, for produce deals, or rely on family members to drive them to 99 Ranch in Alhambra. Some grow their own food in gardening plots, Wang said, "but they can't produce everything they need."
Willie Wang (left), Jessica Wang (center), and Peggy Wang (right) pose inside Gu Grocery. The signs display the store's values in both English and Chinese — Willie's reads "body health" and Peggy's reads "mushroom auntie," playing on the dual meaning of "gu."
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Daniel Nguyen
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Courtesy Gu Grocery
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The community response
When she launched her Go FundMe in mid-April, she was overwhelmed by the response. "I have a hard time asking for help," said Wang. "So actually receiving help, it's very moving."
The donors range from former pop-up customers and friends to a range of assorted well-wishers — a musician who had her food once at an event, fellow food business owners, farmer's market regulars and even her insurance agent.
"The generosity is beyond my expectations," Wang said. "Some of these people only had my food once. People are showing their support truly in a personal way and really believing in the vision."
The GoFundMe money helps Wang stay "afloat for now," but she's had to rethink her opening strategy. She won't be able to afford full inventory when she opens. Instead, she plans a phased opening: prepared foods only, served through a takeout window, then using revenue to slowly stock shelves with the retail items she originally envisioned.
The community raised more than $14,000 in three weeks. After nearly two years of delays, Wang is still waiting for permits. She hopes to open by Father's Day — her general contractor dad's birthday. But she's learned to expect the unexpected.
Many donors sent her direct messages saying simply: "We got this, Jess, we got you."
