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LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A struggling Boyle Heights restaurant, which lost most of its customers after the Lineage cold storage facility fire in June, received a helping hand from the employees of a nearby hospital.
Two weeks ago, CBS LA visited the family-run La Palapa Sinaloense Fish Tacos on E. Olympic Boulevard to listen to their story after the fire. In the weeks since, they’ve been unable to maintain business due to the horrific stench from the rotting food inside the warehouse.
“Really hard. Really hard, because we need to pay the bills,” said Jovana Garcia at the time.
A Los Angeles Community Hospital administrator heard their story and decided that they had an opportunity to help.
“I said to my wife, ‘This needs to be a fundraiser,'” said Keith Levy, the man behind the plan. He purchased 80 meals for his staff, who work right across the street from the restaurant, and donated $300 to Garcia’s restaurant.
Since then, Garcia says the orders have poured in.
“I say, ‘Thank you, God,’ cause they helped a lot. Of course, they make me emotional,” Garcia said. “I am very happy.”
Her son, Emilio, doubled down on the thanks.
“Thank you for supporting my mom,” he said.
Levy says that helping comes naturally to people in their line of work.
“The hospital is there for them; the hospital is here for the community,” Levy said. “We will do whatever we can for them.”
He hopes their pay it forward act will inspire the next person to do something even better for someone in need.
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