TAMPA, Fla. — “She's literally grown up with our customers and our staff. And so she's very much a part of this.”
That's Veronica Danko, on her daughter Ava writing her college entrance essay on growing up with a single mom in the restaurant business
Danko, owner of The Independent Bar and Café fighting her way forward as the pandemic continues to disrupt the restaurant business.
Her work ethic is what she has to offer her daughter Ava Vellines as the high school senior prepares to leave for college.
“My daughter just happened to write in her college essay about growing up at The Independent,” explained Veronica Danko. “She's literally grown up with our customers and our staff. And so she's very much a part of this.”
Family pictures show Vellines in different stages of childhood assisting with pumpkin carving or lemonade sales.
During the pandemic, Danko spent most of her time at work, and she joked that she and her daughter were never stuck at home together getting cabin fever.
Now, Danko says she and fellow business owners in the Seminole Heights area are working on a plan to bring live music back safely.
Look for Ava behind the mic.
Since March, Virginia has taken us all over the Tampa Bay area to see how folks are dealing with Life in The Time of Coronavirus.