CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Charlottetown restaurant owner who was duped out of thousands of dollars is not looking for charity.
Sarah Sadat, owner and operator of Sadat’s Cuisine on University Avenue, says she has been touched by the strong response from the public to her plight.
A story in The Guardian Wednesday outlined how Sadat lost more than $10,000 to a scam and has the company that she used for credit and debit charges seeking more than $12,000 in outstanding debt, which also arose from the scam.
Since that story ran, she has received a flood of comments from people voicing their support for Sadat, saying they love the food at Sadat’s Cuisine and plan to help by going there to eat.
That suits Sadat just fine.
She attributes Wednesday being “a little bit busier than usual’’ to people responding to the article.
“They have responded very fast and I appreciate that,’’ she says.
“I want my restaurant to be busy.’’
“I want to work hard for my money – not free money,. Some people think we are doing this (telling her story) just to get money. It was just a warning for people to be aware of that (scam).’’
-Sarah Sadat
Many people have also voiced an interest in donating money to help Sadat get out of the financial pinch that threatens the survival of her restaurant, which serves traditional Middle Eastern dishes prepared using old family restaurants.
However, Sadat is adamant that she does not want handouts or fundraisers to solve her problem.
“I want to work hard for my money – not free money,’’ she says.
“Some people think we are doing this (telling her story) just to get money. It was just a warning for people to be aware of that (scam).’’
Sadat says it hurts her feelings that some people feel she told her story to garner pity and money.
Sadat says the fact she has only been able to accept cash at the restaurant lately has resulted in reduced business.
However, she hopes to be able to again accept debit and credit starting next month.
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