The COVID-19 pandemic has generated plenty of unpleasant statistics, but sometimes the numbers cloud the real suffering the virus has caused, whether it be physical or economic.
Putting a human face on the economic aspects of the pandemic is Kelli Sater, who has launched a GoFundMe page in an effort to save The Bearded Lady Saloon, which Kelli and her husband own at 1330 5th Street in Pahrump, near the roundabout at state Route 372 and Pahrump Valley Boulevard.
“We have all been impacted by the COVID pandemic, and many businesses were shut down earlier this year to help stop the spread,” Sater wrote, adding that The Bearded Lady Saloon was opened in December 2019, closed three months later in response to the pandemic, allowed to reopen May 29 and then closed again a month later.
“We were able to get relief for the first shutdown, but there was no relief for a second one,” she wrote.
With Congress unable to decide what should be in another coronavirus relief package — or even if there should be another one — businesses such as The Bearded Lady Saloon, both locally owned and relatively new, have been among the biggest casualties of the situation.
“We are now out of money and out of time,” Sater wrote. “Our business that we have worked so hard for and put our blood, sweat and tears into is now in jeopardy of being closed for good.”
The last resort appears to be hoping for help from the community.
“We are reaching out to our friends, family and anybody that can help to find it in their hearts to help us out during these hard times,” she added. “We have devoted our business to helping the community, and now we ask that the community helps us in our time of need.”
The GoFundMe page was created Thursday, and by 5 p.m. Friday nine people had contributed a total of $800 toward the posted goal of $5,000.
“We can’t express enough how much we appreciate you all for your love and support,” Sater wrote in closing.
Anyone interested in contributing to The Bearded Lady Saloon’s GoFundMe page can visit https://gf.me/v/c/df43/