A Brooklyn restaurant that has been a fixture of its neighborhood for a generation is now fighting simply to keep its doors open. According to News 12, Cheryl's Global Soul, a longtime favorite in Prospect Heights that has brought people together for more than 20 years, is facing a new challenge that its owner says could force it to close after more than two decades in the community.
For much of that time, the restaurant has been far more than a place to eat. According to the report, Cheryl's Global Soul has served as a gathering place for neighbors, families and local artists, becoming woven into the daily life of Prospect Heights and giving the area a communal space where people from the neighborhood have come together over food for years.
The restaurant has weathered serious difficulties before. Owner Cheryl Smith says the business managed to survive the COVID pandemic, which shuttered countless eateries across the city, and also pushed through a period of rising food costs that squeezed restaurants everywhere, holding on where many other small establishments were forced to give up.
This time, however, the threat is coming from a different direction. According to Smith, a rent hike, along with added fees and a tight deadline, are now threatening the restaurant's entire future, combining into a financial pressure that she says could bring an end to the business she has spent more than 20 years building in the neighborhood.
Rather than close quietly, Smith has turned to the people the restaurant has served for so long. According to the report, she has launched a GoFundMe campaign in an appeal to the community, and it has already gained strong support, a sign of how many people in Prospect Heights and beyond feel a personal connection to the place and want to see it survive.
For Smith, the fight is deeply personal. She described the spirit she has tried to create at the restaurant, saying that when people come there she wants them to feel like they have come home, and speaking of offering culture one plate at a time and love in every plate. The possibility of losing it all, she said, hurts her heart, adding simply that she built the place for people.
As the deadline looms, Smith says she is holding on to hope. According to News 12, she remains hopeful that the community's support will help keep the restaurant's doors open, and she has made clear that she intends to keep fighting for its future rather than let one of Prospect Heights' longtime gathering places disappear without a struggle.