AUSTIN, Texas — Customer service is taking on a new meaning in East Austin.

23-year-old Kristen Chambers started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help save a local restaurant from closing.

“One day we was open, and the next the whole city was just closed,” said Darold Gordon, owner of Big Easy Bar and Grill.

What started as a kind gesture from Chambers is making an everlasting impression with the restaurant.

“I just reached out to them on Facebook asking if they had a GoFundMe set up for us to donate to... Darold reached out asking if I could help him set up one and I was happy to say yes, ” Chambers, a customer of Big Easy Bar and Grill.

It all began last summer when Chambers visited the restaurant to get a quick bite to eat of savory Cajun food. On that night the family operated business was serving more than food. Nights at the Big Easy consisted of live music, poetry, and southern comfort.

“People just walked up to us and started conversations. And [they] wanted to befriend us and talk about their artistry. I was very taken with the experience,” Chambers said.

Fast forward to present day and her new favorite Cajun spot was hit hard by the pandemic and nearly destroyed by an electrical fire.

Kristen Chambers speaks with Darold Gordon and his family at Big Easy Bar and Grill in Austin, Texas (Lakisha Lemons/Spectrum News)

Chambers created the Help Rebuild Big Easy is the campaign on GoFundMe with the Gordon family in hopes of preserving Black businesses in the area.

“The GoFund is a way for the community to work against gentrification and help the Gordon family keep their business. It hurts me to see the people living there who are being pushed out of their own communities,” said Chambers.\

So far the campaign has raised nearly $12,000 with a goal of $75,000 to help Big Easy with repair costs to fully reopen.

“We want to be able to stay right here on 12th Street that way we hire people right here in the community who can live and work here,” said Gordon.