Hip-Hop Sweet Shop makes its 'sweet' return in Louisville after fiery setback
On December 22, 2022, co-owner of the dessert bar , Lafesa Johnson-Hardison, woke up to a nightmare.
"At three in the morning, we got the call that we needed to go to the shop," Lafesa Johnson-Hardison said. "We got down there, and the whole building was ablaze. It was devastating."
The fire destroyed the Russell Neighborhood strip mall that housed the Hip-Hop Sweet Shop. While things may have looked bleak, Lafesa's wife and business partner, Jessie Johnson-Hardison, always knew they would bounce back.
"I knew that I had a wife who is strong-willed," Jessie Johnson-Hardison said. "That we were never going to give up. So, even if it took some time, I knew we would get back to it."
While the pair had the drive to return, money was a hurdle. Lafesa and Jessie reached out to the community, and people responded by donating thousands of dollars through a GoFundMe campaign.
In December, two years after the original shop burned down, the new Hip-Hop Sweet Shop opened just down the street. According to Lafesa, the support of the community she serves made the decision to stay in the Russell Neighborhood an easy one.
"It gave us hope," Lafesa said. "It showed us that we were on the right path. We already knew we were coming back to Russell맥스카지노no doubt about it."
Hip-Hop Sweet Shop is open Wednesday through Sunday.