Reopen Altadena Beverage & Market after Eaton Fire

My name is Kate Vourvoulis and I am the owner of Altadena Beverage and Market. It has been 4 weeks since the fire in Altadena started, and I still do not think I can form the words for the collective pain, grief, and loss we all feel. My heart is broken. As you may or may not know, I grew up near Altadena Beverage, just south of Allen and Washington. In 2020 in the midst of Covid, when our son was young, we decided to make Altadena our home.

We purchased Altadena Beverage in 2021 and re-opened as a neighborhood specialty market in January 2022. January was our 3 year anniversary.

This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the original opening of Altadena Beverage. There have been multiple owners throughout the 7 decades, but it has served as a community hub through all of them.  
 

While our buildings stand, the proximity to the burn site and structure fires means we are looking at significant smoke damage. That, combined with loss of power, meant we had to discard the majority of our food items. 

Our plan to reopen is in the works. Multiple staff members, including Adam and me, are without homes. Altadena Beverage’s power, even weeks later, goes on and off. Our insurance navigation is long and confusing. I know many of you can relate. We will reopen, but we must make sure we are fully prepared. We are thinking about safety, mental well-being, logistics, product replacements, and so much more.

The community we knew is forever changed, our customers, family, friends, neighbors are all scattered. I grieve the loss of our community and the familiarity of life in Altadena.

We have always said that our business is a small business to support other small businesses. We support local, sustainable, artisan makers and producers. We host pop ups weekly free of charge to support local vendors. A good portion of these vendors have also been severely impacted by the fire. We want to be able to support them, but in order to do that, we need support ourselves. 

We spent the first week in the aftermath sharing gofundmes for all of our customers who lost homes, businesses, cars, and more, while simultaneously trying to navigate our own displacement. There were more than we could handle or comprehend. We recently used funds from our apparel sales to host, in collaboration with Molly Baz, a "Stock That Pantry" event at a separate location, which allowed displaced Altadena families to restock their pantries for free with many brands that we carry at Altadena Beverage. Many have reached out to share how grateful they are that our shop made it, and we look forward to being able to open our doors to them again. Any amount of assistance you could provide would be one step closer towards keeping this legacy business alive.

Funds distributed to us will be used for:

• Reopening, including ensuring everything is properly cleaned and safe

• Restocking lost inventory

• Covering expenses due to loss of income

• Paying outstanding invoices

• Prioritizing working with local vendors also affected by the fire

• Payroll for all staff, including those affected by the fire

• Diversifying products to meet the needs of the community

• Implementing a delivery system to reach displaced Altadena families

Any contribution will make a difference in our efforts to reopen. Thank you.

Kate Vourvoulis

Owner, Altadena Beverage