Retail by MONA Launches The MONA CARES Campaign To Give Back To New York City's Retail Business Owners and Restaurants

NEW YORK, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Restaurants are the heartbeat of New York City and one of the hardest-hit industries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with shutdowns and restrictions cutting off revenue opportunities. According to the National Restaurant Association, more than 110,000 restaurants --about one in six restaurants across the U.S. -- have permanently closed, including 4,500 in New York City alone. While the new Restaurant Revitalization Fund, part of the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act by the Biden-Harris Administration, will provide $28.6 billion in grants to restaurants and bars in need, it is just one step in getting restaurants and small businesses in New York City back on their feet.

Retail by MONA, a new retail real estate leasing and advisory firm born during COVID-19, wants to help rebuild New York City streetscapes starting with restaurants and the retail business community. From coffee shops to dry cleaners to hardware stores, these businesses give New York's neighborhoods their unique personalities and are the key to the City's economy. Today, the Company announces the MONA CARES Campaign: a movement to support the retail industry in New York City. The first installment of the program commences with a partnership with Restaurants Organizing Advocating Rebuilding (ROAR) -- a community of hospitality leaders advocating for New York City's Independent Restaurant Industry Restaurant Employee Relief Fund -- and additional verticals to come.

Retail by MONA is extending its leasing representation services to retail business and restaurant owners and committing to contribute a portion of the value of their brokerage fee back into New York City -- with 50% of the allotted percentage going back to the business owner to help them with start-up costs and the remaining 50% to ROAR's Restaurant Employee Relief Program to support existing businesses and employees who have been affected by COVID-19. The relief program is intended to bolster new owners and alleviate the barrier to entry in renting new space or relocating an existing restaurant or storefront.

"The pandemic has hit the retail industry hard and with staggering storefront vacancies, streetscapes have been transformed," said Brandon L. Singer, Founder and CEO of Retail by MONA. "We believe in doing business for the greater good and a better tomorrow for all.  That's why we wanted to launch MONA CARES -- to do our part in helping to drive the city's renaissance.  We're thrilled to have partnered with ROAR to bring this initiative to life -- it felt like the most sustainable and circular way to help bring New York City back."

Retail by MONA -- an acronym that stands for "Making Of a New Age"-- was founded with the mission to rewrite the future of retail and empower urban communities as well as businesses, big and small, to thrive. The Company, whose name is inspired by one of the most famous works of the Renaissance period, is steadfast in its belief that retail has entered a renaissance of its own and is on a mission to guide both tenants and landlords through the increasingly disrupted retail real estate landscape by employing creative, data-driven solutions to leasing. 

"At ROAR we are honored to partner with Retail by MONA, a forward-thinking real estate company that understands the vital importance of working with their tenants and investing back into their businesses," said Dana Cowin, co-founder of ROAR. "It has become very clear that the future success of NYC restaurants—and indeed the cultural fabric of the city—is dependent in part on this kind of enlightened approach."

Restaurant and business owners looking to participate can text the MONA CARES Community number at 646.328.6267, to sign up for the program and connect with the MONA CARES team directly. MONA is among one of the first real estate partners to activate Community, a new text messaging platform that enables instant and direct communication at scale. The text messages exchanged between MONA CARES and its Community are free of ads and people who opt-in cannot be served spam, or become vulnerable to trolling, or algorithms, providing additional impact and reach for this initiative.

For more information on MONA CARES, please visit HERE.

About Retail by MONA
Retail by MONA is a first-of-its-kind real estate leasing and advisory firm driving the future of retail. Guiding tenants and landlords through the increasingly disrupted retail real estate landscape, Retail by MONA employs creative, data-driven solutions to leasing and strategies that aim to realize the wants and needs of communities, the business goals of landlords and tenants, and what's right and good for the world. An acronym that stands for "Making Of a New Age," MONA was inspired by one of the most famous works of the Renaissance period as well as our steadfast belief that retail has entered a renaissance of its own. To learn more visit www.retailbymona.com or connect on Instagram here or LinkedIn here.

About ROAR
ROAR (Restaurants Organizing, Advocating & Rebuilding) is a community of hospitality leaders advocating for the New York City independent restaurant industry and creating a path to a sustainable future. Started in March 2020 by a group of industry professionals, impassioned to step up and fight for the survival of our industry and the people that make it so special, ROAR works in a multitude of ways to accomplish its goals. ROAR partnered with Robin Hood to establish a cash grant program to support restaurant workers experiencing incredible economic hardship as a result of this pandemic. Coupled with supporting restaurant workers, ROAR engages in key advocacy work at the city and state levels to ensure the future for New York restaurants in the future.

About Community
Community powers direct relationships and one-on-one conversations between Leaders and their Members through text messaging at scale. Launched in 2019 and headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, Community is breaking new ground in trusted marketing and communications channels by connecting Leaders- global pop culture stars, local community organizers, small business owners, media companies, and brands- to their Members to drive conversations that convert into actions, sales, revenue and more.

PRESS CONTACTS:
Robyn Wikov | [email protected] | 214.577.9367
Gizem Ozcelik | [email protected] | 917.579.1898

SOURCE Retail by MONA

Related Links

http://www.retailbymona.com/monacares