HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — The last few years have been a roller coaster ride for The Coffee Exchange in Pleasant Ridge. A fire destroyed their shop in 2018, they rebuilt in 2019, reopened in early 2020 and closed again when the pandemic hit.
Now, Dave Portnoy, founder of the website Barstool Sports and the Barstool Fund, will be sending the shop a $10,000 grant.
Sarah Peters, owner of The Coffee Exchange, put together a video and message with the other staff at the shop, talking about the shop's tumultuous past few years, and sent it to the fund. Then, Portnoy FaceTimed Peters one Saturday night to tell her the good news.
"I was doing the dishes and I saw this number, FaceTime number, pop up on my phone," Peters said. "I still couldn't believe it."
"Sounds like a great spot," Portnoy said. "We just want to make sure we can give you the funds that you need to make sure you can get through this, until you get to the other end."
Peters said the news still hasn't sunk in, but she is grateful for the support.
"(Portnoy) just kept saying, you know, 'we're so happy we're able to help you.' It was like talking to an old friend. It felt really great," Peters said. "It's going to pay our rent for a few months... bring back some staff members and do a few other things we wanted to do before we open up the indoor dining again."
Peters hopes to re-open The Coffee Exchange to dine-in customers this weekend.
