The A&T Fund

We have all, one way or another been affected by COVID-19, either personally or as a business, some of us both, and the virus that has spread across the world in 2020 seems to leave no one unaffected.

We know that many are struggling and suffering right now in these times, and this has also hit our beloved Anneli & Thomas, who for the past 7 years have been a staple in the Gran Canaria restaurant world.

The first 5 years they ran a smaller restaurant, A&T Kitchen and Bar, in Playa del Ingles. With love, compassion, and hard work they created a unique space to which locals and tourists alike would keep returning day after day, year after year.

Unfortunately, the building was sold and Anneli and Thomas were forced to find a new location. After a long search they finally found their new restaurant in San Agustin. The premises were empty and all furnishings had to be bought and installed from scratch to get the business running, along with expensive licences and a costly investment.

The first year in the new location was tough. There were many and more unpredicted costs and a slow summer for tourism as Northern Europe experienced the hottest summer in decades that year. Tourism is the lifeblood of the restaurant business on an island like Gran Canaria. The lack of tourists resulted in a severe loss of revenue.

But they refused to give up and kept fighting to keep their dream alive.

As year 2 rolled around thing started to turn around and things were looking better. They could slowly start paying off their debts and there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The future was looking bright.

And then Covid-19 hit and stomped out that light for good.

Anneli and Thomas have not received any help or subsidies from the government during this pandemic. During lock down they quickly had to think of a solution to keep their business running and keep delivering food to the children of the Swedish School and to the Swedish Rehabilitation Centre in Gran Canaria. Thanks to their catering license they were able to offer home delivered meals which was highly appreciated by the people stuck in their homes. They made zero profit through this but managed to scrape by, just enough to pay the bills, but they knew they were helping people both through home deliveries and though donating extra lunch boxes to families without homes.

Looking back, the smart thing to do would have been to temporarily close and put the company on hold to keep costs down and be eligible for government handouts. But they chose to soldier on and keep fighting, forfeiting all government support. At that time they could never have imagined the dire consequences that would come from this.

And now the debts have skyrocketed and they have no other choice. It is with heavy hearts they have made the decision to close their business due to the effects of COVID-19. We, the people who have followed them closely throughout the years, know that they have poured their heart and soul into this restaurant and the company, and they have worked day and night to try and make it through this uncertain crisis, but realised that that is not going to happen.

We Elin, (Anneli and Thomas’s daughter) and my childhood friends, Anna, Elin, and Malin and I are now asking for your support for Anneli & Thomas - A&T Kitchen and Bar - to help them through this crisis which will have huge consequences for them personally if we don’t help them. That is why we have started this fundraiser, to give them a fighting chance to get through this economic catastrophe that awaits them. At this point they would need about $100k to break even.

We hope that with your help we can somehow manage together something to at least help them get somewhat closer to that, big or small, every little bit helps and we are beyond grateful for any donation and every share of this link on any platform. It breaks our hearts to see them in this situation with no hope, not a penny to their name, and no clue what the future will bring.

We know that it is extremely hard for Anneli and Thomas to lay their financial situation bare for the world to see, but this is a situation nobody could have predicted and there is no time for pride nor denial. Time has run out and they need our help.