$100K Donated To Black-Owned Boutique Hit By Looters In Deep Ellum
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - After being closed for months due to COVID-19, just days before Guns and Roses Boutique was set to reopen it fell victim to vandals. During the May 29th protest through downtown Dallas, they stopped at the store off Commerce and caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage and most of the merchandise was stolen.
"The night of the destruction.. whew," owner Princess Pope said. "When I came in, it just was just so terrible. It was so terrible. I stand with the protesters, but I do not stand with the looters."
Pope has put everything she has into her business and in the past seven years, it's become a staple among the community and even celebrities. When they learned about what happened, the donations started rolling in. In just three days, people from all over the world donated $100,000 to the cleanup effort. The Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Vista Bank and other local businesses volunteering their time.
"This is a black owned business and one of the few in this area," Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce's Vice President Community Investment Jade Tinner said. "So when one of us is hurting, we're going to be here."
Pope calls this both a blessing and a learning opportunity.
"I want to show other entrepreneurs how you overcome and reemerge when these type of things happen," she said. "We just want to be a light to the black community. I try to hold on to the good in every situation."
