NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — People who worked at Second Avenue businesses are left figuring out what to do next after the Christmas Day bombing closed many of the stores and restaurants.
A week after that bombing rattled downtown Nashville, caution tape and piles of debris still surround Second Avenue's Old Spaghetti Factory, a restaurant that has been on the street since the 1980s.
"You just can't even believe it's happening," Bobbie Bradley said. Bradley has worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory for eight years and said the bombing is still hard to process. "I woke up on Christmas and realize I don't have a job to go to."
Bradley is one of 1,200 workers directly impacted by the blast. Many of those employees are now without a workplace for the foreseeable future.
"We don't know what to do, we don't know the future," Bradley said. "I've been on the phone non-stop trying to figure out how to get help."
One of the sources of help comes from her own company. Shortly after the bombing, The Old Spaghetti Factory corporate offices created a Gofundme fundraiser for its employees.
"We decided the first thing we needed to do was to help out our staff," Old Spaghetti Factory District Manager Todd Saxey said. "Very soon, those funds will be in the hands of people who need it most."
As of Thursday evening, the page had raised more than $18,000.
Bradley said the fundraiser will be a big help in getting her and her coworkers money to pay bills and buy other necessities. Still, she and other Second Avenue Workers are unsure of what to do next.
"I don't want to leave the company, I've worked there forever, I love it," she said. "But you know, I have to do something quickly, because you cant stay afloat on nothing."
