A West London rum bar that was completely destroyed in London’s flash floods has received an anonymous donation of £50,000.
Trailer Happiness on Portobello Road, is a well-loved rum bar that’s popular with the local community and celebrities such as Jessie J, Damon Alborn and Akala.
Its current owner, Sly Augustin, 45, says it’s the most famous rum bar in the UK and has a global following.
READ MORE:Man, 72, who lost everything in London flood told he won’t get a penny in compensation
Sadly on July 12, Trailer Happiness was flooded after heavy rainfall swept across London – and all of its expensive equipment, including sound equipment and fridge freezers were destroyed within minutes.
Sly told MyLondon: “I was at home when it happened, but the w hole bar was submerged within 30 minutes. By the time I got to the bar, it was already over – it was very swift in it’s disruption. It came a week before the lockdown restrictions were due to be lifted.”
Sly said he “couldn’t put a price” on the total amount of damages, but estimates it will cost around £100,000 on fixtures and fittings alone.
A GoFundMe was created shortly after the bar flooded and just last week, an anonymous person donated £50,000 towards the fundraiser to help cover insurance costs.
“Someone reached out and said I’d like to help with that, and that’s what happened… as depressing as it was, the bar being completely destroyed – the support from the community has been incredible,” Sly added.
Sly (centre) and the Trailer Happiness team
(Image: Sly Augustin)
While the bar remains closed for now, Sly and his team have been touring up and down the UK in pop-up bars to help cover staff wages and raise funds for the bar.
He added: “W e’ve been touring around while we try to prepare our home.It was important to me regardless if I was able to build the bar back, I need to have a team to work in the bar. There’s no point having a shiny bar and no team.”
Sly took over from the previous owner in 2012, after he became friends with him when he was a customer.
To help cover the costs of preserving the bar long-term, Sly and his team have been selling rare rums at auctions which were gifted to them.
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The team are hosting pop-up events on the floor above Trailer Happiness on weekends, so they can continue serving locals while it raises the funds to gets back on its feet.
” When you’re a business owner, you have no choice. You just have to figure out a way to keep moving,” Sly added.
More than an incredible £100,000 has already been raised out of a £50,000 target on GoFundMe.
Have you got a story we should be covering? Contact Ruby at [email protected]
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