MILWAUKEE — The coronavirus pandemic is costing another restaurant its future. Simple Cafe on Milwaukee's east side is closing its doors at the end of July.
"The pandemic did so much damage, so it was hard to recover from that, even though the business is picking up now, we were just losing too much money," said Supervisor Jorge Trejo.
Trejo has been working at this trendy restaurant since the day they opened their doors, back in January of 2013.
The customers coming in Wednesday were shocked to hear the bad news that they're closing.
The Wisconsin Restaurant Association states that 10-15 percent of restaurants in Wisconsin permanently closed because of the pandemic, and another 20 percent could close if they don't get more financial help soon.
Trejo knows it will be tough to say goodbye to everyone.
"It's going to be so hard," he says. "I'm not really dealing with it. I'm going to be crying for sure. I've already shed some tears with some customers here. I call them my friends, really every single person that comes through the door, they are our friend, they are a part of the simple family."