Minnesota Community Serves Up Support for Beloved Pizza Restaurant After Fire
A cherished South Minneapolis pizza restaurant is receiving an outpouring of kindness as it prepares to recover from a damaging fire.
Jakeeno’s Pizza, a sister-owned neighborhood institution, was forced to close after firefighters were called to the corner of Chicago Avenue and 36th Street early on July 11. Crews discovered flames burning beneath the building’s roof membrane and opened several sections of the roof to extinguish them.
Fortunately, the restaurant was closed and empty when the fire occurred, meaning no one was injured. Although the damage interrupted business and placed a financial strain on the restaurant and its employees, co-owner Amy Keegan remains hopeful about the recovery process.
“Thankfully, we’re very well insured and we’re just kind of waiting for that process to happen,” Amy said. “We’re just waiting on the insurance claim to come through. They’re doing their due diligence on their end.”
While Amy and her sister Patty wait for repairs and insurance arrangements to move forward, local hospitality entrepreneur Bob Tinsley has stepped in to help. He organized a GoFundMe campaign benefiting the sisters and Jakeeno’s employees, whose jobs have been temporarily paused during the closure.
Neighbors and longtime customers quickly embraced the effort. A total of 291 donations brought in $21,000, demonstrating how much the restaurant and its team mean to the community.
“We want them back; we appreciate them. We feel terrible that they lost their jobs from this and so we’re just trying to keep everybody whole,” Patty Keegan told CBS News.
Money raised through the campaign will help support Jakeeno’s cooks, bartenders, and wait staff until the restaurant can reopen. Customers can also lend a hand by purchasing the company’s pasta sauce and frozen pizzas from nearby grocery stores and food co-ops.
Jakeeno’s has been serving its community for half a century, weathering the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd just two blocks away.
Now, the same neighbors who have gathered around its tables and enjoyed its pizzas are giving something back. With their generosity—and the resilience that has carried Jakeeno’s through previous hardships—the beloved restaurant has every reason to look forward to welcoming customers again.
