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When Aland Portillo, the beloved co-founder and owner of Koreatown's Ave Maria Latin Cafe , passed away on April 11, his wife, Maria, had no time to grieve. Instead, she was back at work the very next day, left with no choice but to continue running the Toronto business while grappling with the life-altering loss of her husband. For more than a decade, Ave Maria has been a beacon on Bloor West, in no small part due to the friendly and welcoming atmosphere shoppers have come to expect from Aland and Maria. There is, of course, also the matter of the restaurant, grocery store and cafe's immaculate lineup of home-cooked Colombian cuisine and Latin American groceries: lofty slices of tres leches cake, heaping tamales and fried plantains the size of your forearm. Ave Maria is, in every sense of the term, a community keystone. But despite the restaurant's notability, Toronto is Toronto, and the cost of operating left Maria with no choice but to open the cafe up just one day after her husband passed away. Local content creator, Jacob Balshin, better known by his moniker Dink, a certifiable Ave Maria fan in his own right, wasn't content to let Maria keep working while she grieves her husband. That's why, upon learning about Aland's death, he launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with "funeral costs and to just let Maria have a break." @dinkbalshin Last Sunday a beloved member of the Annex community, Aland Portillo, unfortunately passed away. For over a decade alongside his wife María , the pair have ran Ave Maria Latin Cafe on Bloor. On Monday, a day after losing her husband, María was forced to reopen her restaurant. With Alands recent and tragic passing, María is doing everything she can, from dealing with funeral costs to staff wages, rent, and daily café expenses continue to accumulate. It breaks my heart to see that immediately after losing her husband, María has been forced to reopen her restaurant. This fundraiser is to help temporarily relieve the financial burden and stress on María, so she can have time and space to focus on herself instead of Ave Maria Latin Cafe. Thank you for honouring Aland and helping support his wife María José during this incredibly difficult moment. Love, Jacob If you cannot donate I will be doing an Eat and Greet on Tuesday, April 14th at Ave Maria Latin Cafe from 3-5PM. Come eat with me! #toronto #torontofood #torontofoodie #torontoeats #torontotiktok ♬ original sound - dink Upon posting a video about the fundraiser on TikTok and Instagram, Jacob saw a near-instantaneous response. "He was the kindest, how heartbreaking! this spot was my daily go-to for lunch during high school, their empanadas are amazing and he + Maria would always treat us with such friendliness & warmth. Sending lots of love to their family," one TikTok user comments. "Oh no! I love their Colombian empanadas! Thanks for posting this, I'll be going this week to support Maria and her business," writes another. At the time of publication, just four days after the fundraiser began, Balshin's fundraiser has raised nearly $7000 of its $7500 goal, to say nothing of the customers it's sent directly to Ave Maria to support the business directly. Ave Maria Latin Cafe is located at 631 Bloor St. W.
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