BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Maui Pho hit record-breaking profits Wednesday with their Hawaii donation efforts rounding up thousands of dollars. 23ABC’s Ruby Rivera spoke with owners again about what comes next.
A little more than $28,000 was raised at Maui Pho. With a wait of about two hours and even running out of certain items, owners say they were taken by surprise by how patient the community was.
“It was just so heartwarming to see the community come out to support you know the people in Maui and yeah it brought tears to my eyes and my mom's eyes you know it was honesty just overwhelming,” said Maui Pho General Manager Shireana Tavendale.
In the 15 years they’ve been open, Tavendale says this was their biggest sale yet.
Tavendale says their drive-through line was wrapping around the building. They intended to close at 9 p.m. however Tavendale says they were still taking orders at around 9:10 p.m.
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The kitchen had very limited space on Wednesday, with staff working nonstop to prepare meals. Brandon Crisp was managing the kitchen and says even when they ran out of certain items, the team continued to push through.
“We’ve been working here together for a really long time and were like family honestly so it was really easy to work together. We were bumping into each other because it was really tight back there but we just said sorry and moved on. We had a goal to accomplish and we did it.”
Tavendale says the original plan was to send the funds directly to the Maui Humane Society and Maui United Way, however, she is trying to find a way to send funds to families directly to ensure true change is being made. She says both herself and her parents are extremely grateful to have played a small part in Maui recovery efforts and are looking foward to seeing the end results.
“Knowing that what we did yesterday we’re gonna be able to help the community of Maui we’re just — yeah we’re truly touched that everyone came out for that.”
Shirts and stickers are still available for purchase if you still wanted to donate. Maui Pho says while they would love to do something like this again, they need to restock and regroup but are so grateful for the communities efforts.
