BENTONVILLE, Ark. — After a Bentonville restaurant abruptly closes, community members and employees are coming together to support colleagues who need it most.
Pressroom at Main Street and 2nd Street on Bentonville Square permanently closed its doors on Monday, March 4.
"I guess we're all just feeling pretty disrespected," 22-year-old Debbie Garcia, who worked as a server at the restaurant, said. "I absolutely loved working there. I adored my time there. It was just amazing."
Workers told 5NEWS they were notified of the closure on Monday through the restaurant messaging app and during their pre-shift meeting, leaving them without jobs immediately.
While they say Pressroom did provide two-week severance packages for all former employees, one group of workers is coming together to raise money for some of their coworkers who provide for their families.
"We all just kind of decided in our group message this absolutely sucks. But at the end of the day, we don't have kids. We only provide for ourselves and like maybe our pets," Garcia said. "It's not the same as caring for a child or multiple children or being pregnant. I think we all just kind of wanted to give them some relief."
The former employees aren't the only ones trying to smooth the transition. Hayne Begley, owner of Nosh Nola in Bentonville, reached out to Pressroom employees with job opportunities.
"You always hate to see a restaurant close, especially when it's been around as long as Pressroom. We just saw an opportunity to help out, but also, of course, add fantastic employees to our restaurants," Begley said.
Begley said he's simply happy to make a difference.
"It's wonderful that we're in a position and we're growing and busy, to help a couple of people out to continue to be part of the Bentonville restaurant community," he said.
Organizers of the Pressroom Family Employee Fund hope to raise $5,000 to be split evenly between three single moms and one mom-to-be.
Ropeswing, a Bentonville-based hospitality group that owns Pressroom, gave a statement to 5NEWS on Wednesday, March 6.
Full statement:
Pressroom's last day of operation was Sunday, March 3. Pressroom has been a big part of Bentonville's downtown community, and we are proud of what we have accomplished here over the years.
We want to thank all of our employees for their hard work and dedication to making a great dining experience. All current Pressroom hourly and salaried employees are being offered a severance package.
In the restaurant and hospitality world, new concepts are always appearing, and this decision is simply a reflection of that. We are excited to see what the next big thing will be at this vibrant location. We hope to have an announcement soon about that.
All Pressroom gift cards are valid at any Ropeswing property, including The Preacher's Son, Undercroft, Louise, Coop, and Sunny's.
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