(CNN) — A Toronto bar owner says her business will survive the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the loyal customers who bought up her entire beer stock, giving her a desperately needed cash boost.
Abra Shiner opened her bar, Swan Dive, five years ago in the Brockton Village neighborhood of Toronto, Canada. After Covid-19 restrictions forced her to shut the doors, Shiner decided to ask her community for help via Facebook.
“We were blowing through our savings and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pay rent towards the end of the month,” Shiner told CNN. “So, I wrote on Facebook asking people to come buy the beer we had in our stock room … and it worked. The post went viral.”
In just two days, the post had over 20,000 views, and people from all over the community showed up to Swan Dive to show their support.
“People just started coming out of the woodwork, some people we hadn’t seen in years,” Shiner said.
The Swan Dive carries 35 craft beers and typically keeps two or three cases of each beer in back stock. Shiner says she was able to sell more than 90 cases and is now down to just two.
“Our community completely saved us,” Shiner said.
She says that the money from the beer sales, combined with the federal rent subsidy, will keep the business above water until she can safely open again in March.