Small town pulls together to help Indiana restaurant victimized in fraud case
A small-town restaurant that survived COVID-19 is fighting to stay open after being hit with something that has been even more devastating – a case of fraud.
By Brian Hamrick
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BROOKVILLE, Indiana (WLWT) — A small-town restaurant that survived COVID-19 is fighting to stay open after being hit with something that has been even more devastating – a case of fraud.
“I’m angry because I’ve always wondered how people can let people take advantage of them and then I fell for that,” said Diane Korner.
Korner is the owner of Korner Kountry Kitchen in Brookville, Indiana. She said a case of fraud cost them more than $100,000.
“I’m hurt that somebody would do this to us and make us struggle,” Korner said.
The restaurant was having trouble making payroll for the 25 employees and was a matter of hours from closing when things took an unusual turn.
The community came together to raise about $10,000. It’s not enough to bail the restaurant out, but it has kept its doors open.
“It’s amazing,” said Kountry Kitchen general manager Amanda Merritt. “We’ve had phone calls, messages, there was a GoFundMe. They’ve helped with their donating.”
The money came from individuals around town who don’t want the restaurant to close.
“We come two to three times a week,” said James Wagner, who drives about 10 miles to get to the restaurant.
Wagner said it’s not just the food, but the small-town flavor of the business that keeps him coming back. Before his wife died, he would bring her to the restaurant. He said one day he was cutting up a salad to make the pieces smaller for his wife.
“So, Diane came over and said, ‘What are you doing?’” Wagner said he explained the situation. “From then on, she told the girls, anytime my wife ordered a salad, you make sure you got to cut it up real fine. She took care of my wife.”
Those kinds of details are not overlooked in a small town.
Korner said she is unable to talk about the details of the fraud case, but that local, state and federal authorities are looking into the crime.
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