Couple That Lost Wedding Savings to reBar Talks with FiPS

image via Sarah Bibi Gainer

Park Slope couple Katie Jarvis and Ranjan Mukhopadhyay walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and through the park in DUMBO, on their first date. They did the same thing the day he proposed to her in September 2012. So reBar’s location was perfect for their upcoming wedding on July 26th. Owner Jason Stevens offered an all inclusive wedding package that took a lot of the pressure off their shoulders. The food was great and the aesthetics suited their style. They wanted to throw a “party with our friends,” said Ranjan, and reBar was the right place for it.

They booked the restaurant and paid the $20,000-plus bill over the next few months. Then last Friday Katie heard from a friend in the bridal party that Gothamist was reporting reBar had closed. The couple went to a local bar directly from work, shell shocked. “I know there are so many bigger problems in the world,” Ranjan said, “but I’ve never cried so much. I’ve never seen my fiancée cry so much.”

The owner of their wedding venue, an investment that had cost Katie and Ranjan their life savings and more, “absconded with all the money left in the till, putting up a sign saying the restaurant is closed.” They were left scrambling with two months to find not just a new location but catering and all the other services reBar had been paid to do. They had people coming from out of the country, so changing the date was not an option.

“Close friends rallied, especially the wedding party,” said Ranjan. Through social media they also connected with 60 to 70 other couples (many of whom had paid in full), now-former reBar employees and vendors who wanted to help. Just yesterday they signed a contract with Atelier Roquette to host their reception. Their favorite local bar, South, is throwing them a fundraiser. “They said they would do anything we needed...the support has been overwhelming. It’s why we love living in Brooklyn.”

Kaite and Ranjan want to stress that a lot of couples had paid in full for a wedding up to two years away. Those couples will have the same financial burden but not necessarily the same donated nor discounted helped. Here are some fundraisers for those affected:

Kaite and Ranjan’s Fund

Brian Cavanaugh and Heather Epstein

Stephanie and Christian

“Help The Canceled ReBar Weddings” Group Fund

Stevens turned himself in to the Brooklyn DA yesterday on tax related charges of grand larceny and fraud. Katie and Ranjan are part of a group of couples who have spoken with the DA and are exploring all their legal avenues.

Sources:

Gothamist

Gothamist

NY Post