North Philly business owner receives grant after store looted, vandalized amid unrest

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - A North Philly business owner who recently recovered from COVID-19 saw his own store being burned on TV during the unrest throughout the city. On Friday, he received a grant to help him rebuild.

“When this happened, I kind of took it personal. You know, this is a community that I have been serving for the past years, and to have the community set my place on fire was really mentally detrimental to me,” he said.

Kim’s tenant, beauty supply store Sun Pay, was also left with no salvageable merchandise after riots. He says that he spent decades building the property to establish the store. 

“I understood the reasons for the protest but I just, you know, setting a building on fire and setting your own community on fire was just terrible,” said Kim.

Nearly every other storefront on Germantown Avenue is boarded up, and Kim’s has now been added to the list. He and his family have just recovered from COVID-19, and these loots have made him feel quite unlucky. 

“Thank god that we came out of it. It was very, very painful times and very, very scary times,” he said.

After hearing about the damages, Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta gave Kim a small grant as part of a new program initiative. PwC and Richie’s in North Philadelphia also helped to establish the fund. 

“It’s to help people whose businesses were damaged during the civil unrest. The fund is quickly growing,” Kenyatta said.

Each individual loan is between $250-$500. After assessing the fire damage, water damage, and general destruction, Kim estimates that he will need at least $500,000. 

Even so, he says that he is grateful for any help and now sees love in the way his city is helping him rebuild his store. 

“Out of all this darkness, I see a lot of light and I see a lot of love coming back,” said Kim.

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