Apr 6, 2022 3 min read

Support for workers at the Elrama Tavern is pouring in after the restaurant in Union Township was destroyed by fire last week.

Several fundraisers were launched in the days after the March 31 fire to help the 27 employees who are now out of a job and without a paycheck, according to the Elrama Tavern’s Facebook page.

A Go Fund Me fundraising page was launched by a Thomas Jefferson High School sophomore who raised more than half of its $15,000 goal to help the employees as of Tuesday afternoon. Matthew Peterson, who identified himself as the student to start the Go Fund Me page, said the Elrama Tavern’s owner, Susan Grimm, regularly made donations to sports teams at his high school, along with teams at Ringgold and Elizabeth Forward.

“Even during the last few years when the restaurant/small business industry was taking a hard hit due to COVID, Susie always came through with a donation of some kind to help our teams. She is ALWAYS willing to help support our communities any way needed. Her kindness is something we are so grateful for. Without the generous donations from local businesses like ET we would not be able to do all the things we do within these programs,” the post reads.

Peterson wrote in his message to donors that all proceeds from the Go Fund Me page, which can be found be searching Elrama Tavern Fire – Displaced Employee Fund, would be divided among the restaurant’s 27 workers.

Others in the Mon Valley are also coming to the aid of the workers.

Monongahela-based apparel store Sparkles By Shell announced its own fundraiser by selling T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts and mugs with a print of the iconic Elrama Tavern signs emblazoned on them. Customers have until April 18 to make their purchases by going to stores.sparklesbyshell.com and clicking the “Elrama Tavern Employee Fundraiser” tab under fundraisers. The company said proceeds from the sales will be given to the employees.

“We stand with Elrama Tavern and hope this will help ease some of the sadness and pain this devastating fire has caused,” the company wrote on its Facebook page.

The store’s owner, Michelle DeHosse, said they began taking orders Saturday night and had pre-sold 600 items as of Tuesday afternoon. She hopes the company will hit at least 1,000 orders, although she’ll continue selling as many as possible before beginning the printing process April 19.

There will also be a Good Friday fish fry fundraiser April 15 at the Floreffe Volunteer Fire Company’s fire hall right across the Allegheny County line at 1540 State St. in Jefferson Hills. The Elrama Tavern shared information on the fish fry fundraiser on its Facebook page.

A reporter’s message sent to Elrama Tavern’s Facebook page asking for an interview about the fundraisers went unanswered. Meanwhile, Grimm has not publicly stated whether she plans to rebuild the restaurant.

The blaze is believed to have been started by an errant ember from a burning trash pile near the restaurant that caught the rear basement on fire, Elrama fire Chief Lenny Bailey said last week. The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze, but did not respond to a phone message Tuesday afternoon.