You are reading

La Adelita finds funding to keep restaurant going, much to the relief of owner

Dec. 23, 2016 By Christian Murray

The owner of La Adelita, located at 52-22 Roosevelt Avenue, who launched a GoFundMe campaign last week to raise funds to pay back taxes, has secured a loan to cover the tab.

Owner Maria Iglesias wrote on her GoFundMe page last Saturday that she owed $72,000 in back taxes and needed help in order to keep her doors open. At the time, she had a $30,000 loan to cover part of the tax bill but said she needed additional funding to keep the tax department at bay.

“A friend suggested GoFundMe and that people would find it in their hearts to contribute…so I said ‘Ok,” Iglesia said.

Iglesia stopped the campaign earlier this week after receiving word from TD Bank that she had been approved for a new loan that would help her cover her ongoing business expenses, while she could repay her taxes. Since then, she has refunded those who contributed to the GoFundMe campaign.

Iglesia, who said her accountant was largely to blame for her tax problem, said her passion and expertise has always been cooking and running a restaurant. “I paid him to do the accounting since I didn’t know much about it,” she said.

She said that she has filed suit against her accountant and is now taking accounting courses herself. Iglesia said she is having trouble trusting other accounting professionals after her ordeal.