Westfield Restaurant Owner Battling COVID Needs Community's Help

WESTFIELD, NJ — During the pandemic, restaurant Fettle + Fare became the go-to spot for delicious soups and bone broths in Westfield — the perfect remedy for a sore throat or an upset stomach. But now restaurant owner Amanda Vargas is in need of a remedy and some help from her community as she battles COVID-19.

For the past six months, Vargas has been running Fettle + Fare — the gluten and dairy free restaurant — all by herself, due to various staffing and financial issues. As she cannot work currently and the restaurant is closed in her absence, Vargas has started a GoFundMe to stay afloat during this challenging time.

Her goal is to reach $15,000 to cover various business and medical expenses. She has already raised $3,320 since posting the fundraiser on Thursday, Jan. 6.

Vargas's battle with COVID is especially difficult, as she also suffers from Multiple Sclerosis — a degenerative neurological disease. She is also legally blind and only has about 10% of her vision left.

Vargas said dealing with COVID amidst her other health issues has been a "delicate balance."

"If you boost your immune system too much when you have an autoimmune disease, you could actually cause a lot of your disease to flare up," Vargas said. "So it's this delicate balance of taking enough vitamins but not taking too many and really listening to my body to understand what it needs in that moment."

Vargas said she has felt extra symptoms that most people do not experience with COVID, such as numbness in her legs, extra dizziness and some neurological pain.

At the restaurant, Vargas said she used to have a staff of about eight people but it's been difficult to hire and retain people throughout the pandemic. Often times Vargas said she cannot afford to pay workers enough or they are not skilled enough to work in a kitchen and can only do certain tasks, such as dishwashing.

"It's hard to find people who are able to work [and] willing to work at the rate that a small restaurant job pays," Vargas said.

Because she is currently the sole person running Fettle + Fare, if Vargas is out sick, the restaurant cannot open. Vargas said the past six months have been extremely taxing and she occasionally has to adjust her hours and close early due to her health issues.

She said she also feels pressure to stay open, as she knows many rely on the restaurant for her healthy soups.

"I felt a lot of pressure to stay open … because everyone's so sick in town and [I want] to help them get better by giving them bone broth and chicken soup and all the healthy meals," Vargas said. "Everyone's coming in and picking up food for themselves and their neighbors, which is actually a really nice thing. We're the first place that everyone thinks to go when they're sick or when their family or friends are sick."

According to the GoFundMe page, January is typically the busiest month of the year for Fettle + Fare, and Vargas heavily relies on this month for making it through the year.

Vargas said the money raised from the GoFundMe will mainly go toward business expenses, such as rent and utilities. The funds will also help replace spoiled food in the restaurant, as well as Vargas's own rent and some of her medical expenses.

Vargas's wife, Jillian, is helping take care of her at this time, but she is also experiencing COVID symptoms as they are quarantined together. Vargas said she hopes to be back in the restaurant within the next two weeks as her symptoms improve.

To help out Vargas during this difficult time, donations can be made on her GoFundMe page.

Get a free morning newsletter with news in Westfield or another town: https://patch.com/subscribe