OGDEN, Utah– It’s a sad day for a small business in Ogden and members of the community after Jesse Jean’s Homestyle Café and Coffee announced they will be closing after 20 years due to the financial burden of the pandemic.
“Just physically, emotionally and financially, has taxed us to the point where we were ready to break, we were falling apart,” says Anna Davidson, owner of Jesse Jean’s on 25th street.
Anna and Ron Davidson, announced Jesse Jean’s doors will close after COVID-19 left the business in a continued deficit after being on 25th street, where rent was up to $5,000 a month in downtown Ogden.
“The worst the pandemic got, the more difficult it became, the slower it got and changing our whole model and having to do ordering apps and them taking 22% of your sale on average when restaurants run off of a 35% margin anyway,” says Davidson.
The Davidsons are known for helping the shelter-less community and even employing transient individuals at their café.
“And to know, that they’ve been giving when they haven’t been even able to afford to even pay their own personal bills is beyond heartbreaking to me,” says Amanda Schleininger.
Schleininger, an Ogden resident and small business owner, is now calling for the community’s action after the Davidson’s continuous stride to help those in need.
“I would love to challenge everyone in the Ogden community to support them, because they have supported us and the people that are less fortunate time and time again,” says Schleininger.
And the Davidson’s aren’t calling it quits. They still have their non-profit, the Rad Hero Foundation, and have plans to keep helping the community.
“The only way you receive in life is if you give, I believe, and so, I’ll give until it hurts,” says Ron Davidson.
The Davidson’s are thanking the community for 20 years of fulfillment, but say it’s time to move onto something new.