CHICAGO – People rallied around a business in Bronzeville today. It was an effort to support them and others in the community that have been burglarized recently.
What we know:
Early Walker of E & R Towing encouraged people to support Shawn Michelle’s Ice Cream, after a break-in days ago.
“We have to make sure we’re supported because if we don’t support, nobody else will,” Walker said.
The first 100 kids got a free cone, and the owner is thankful.
“Most importantly, I was really, really grateful to God because it could have been much, much worse, and it just showed me that we have so much more work to do in the community just to make our community a decent and a better place to live,” Yahya Muhammad, owner of Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream said
His shop is not alone.
“We are doing the same thing at the 43rd location for Sip and Savor today. The first 100 people were going to receive a cup of coffee,” Walker said.
Sip and Savor Coffee Shop and Ain’t She Sweet Cafe on 43rd were also burglarized recently.
“I’m inspired, I’m fired up. I’m more charged than ever before. I’m not condemning to just show me I got to do more work to help be a beacon of life with Shawn Michelle’s, a beacon of hope and a beacon of inspiration for all of those who might think that there’s no other way out. I just want them to know that it is. And so it’s never, ever too late to turn it around,” Muhammad said.
They’re calling for the community to continue to step up.
“It’s bigger than coffee, it’s bigger than ice cream. You know, it’s with the intentions of the community coming out support and also with the community spending dollars and being intentional about what we spend our dollars. I mean, uh, we have our own Starbucks. It’s different. We have our basket robins. It is shine Michelle, right? And so when these business get attacked, it is personal,” Walker said.
Shawn Michelle’s is hoping they can continue to stay in business.
The investigation into the burglaries continues.
