The Barstool Fund, launched nationally in December by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, has begun paying the monthly rent of restaurant Special Dogs & More in downtown Columbus. That help will continue until at least the end of the COVID-19 pandemic or perhaps beyond.
Owners Randy and Robin Lapidus have announced that the generosity of Portnoy is a key for the business that specializes in job opportunities for special-needs workers. They, like other business owners, acknowledge that they have struggled mightily the past few months.
Portnoy launched the fund in December to help small businesses amid the health crisis. It has now raised more than $22 million in donations, including from celebrities ranging from pro football’s Tom Brady to singer Kid Rock.
Portnoy himself recently called the owners after they submitted information about their business and its mission to feed people while giving those with intellectual and developmental disabilities job opportunities. Randy Lapidus regularly talks about the high unemployment rate of that segment of the population when he speaks of how the restaurant opened in October 2017.
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Portnoy has posted some of those video calls, including the one with Special Dogs & More, with some of the weary business owners happily crying over the news. Portnoy called the business “an incredible story.”
“It really blew us away,” Randy Lapidus said. “We have fought tooth and nail to keep our doors open after COVID hit.
“And now, to have this boost of confidence, to have this real hope put in front of us, means that instead of worrying about the day-to-day. We can now start looking ahead again.”
In a remote interview on the national TV show “Fox and Friends” on Sunday, Robin Lapidus acknowledged that recently “there were nights when we didn’t know how we were going to pay the bills.”
The owners added alcohol, expanded the menu’s food choices, and expanded hours at its location at 217 Washington St. to try and boost sales, but they realized most of their downtown workers were still working from home.
“COVID has really thrown everything into a tizzy,” Randy Lapidus said.
But Barstool’s intervention makes twice-weekly customers such as John Stephens happy to still be able to get his grilled tenderloin, which he called “cooked to perfection.”
“And their mission to help the developmentally disabled is fabulous,” Stephens said.
