WCK’s Restaurants for the People Highlight: Mott Haven
“If it wasn’t for World Central Kitchen, I would never have been able to sustain my restaurant. In mid-March, I had to close my doors. I tried to do delivery only, but the overhead was more expensive than the income. Once I heard about World Central Kitchen, I got excited. I started creating menus and researching ways to make food by the masses. I know, they say you shouldn’t make plans with money you don’t have, but I couldn’t help myself. It was a blessing when we got the approval, and now we’re at our 13th week. Without World Central Kitchen, there would not be a Mott Haven” – Rosa, owner of Mott Haven
Rosa was a manager at the precursor to Mott Haven in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit New York – the restaurant was flooded and everything had to be replaced. Rosa took over the space, made all necessary repairs, and reopened as Mott Haven.
“I got laid off when I was pregnant with my first daughter back in 2006. In 2007, I found this job on Craigslist. I was the bookkeeper and worked my way up to being the restaurant owner’s right-hand man. Then Hurricane Sandy happened. Everything came to a stop. The owner and the landlord split this place 50/50, but were head-to-head in court about how to repair from all the damages. I made a spreadsheet on what needed to be repaired, took out a loan, and took over the business. Everybody thought I was crazy, but I had everything up and running in a week.”
Today, Rosa and her team are preparing hundreds of meals a day for local housing complexes and first responders in The Bronx through WCK’s Restaurants for the People program. Rosa’s mother even helps cook on the weekends! When our team asked Rosa about the inspiration behind Mott Haven, she told us it was women’s empowerment.
“I have 2 girls, a 13 and 4 year old, and a clothing line about not fitting in the box. Especially women, we all need to stick together. There is no such thing as competition, we need to uplift. I love my place. It doesn’t matter what color skin or what type of hair you have, we should always treat others with kindness.”
“Women need to be reminded that we can do anything we set our minds to. Yes we can cook and we can clean, but we can also be entrepreneurs.”
