Following Tuesday’s devastating fire that destroyed the longstanding Chin Chin restaurant in East Cobb, the daughter of the restaurant’s owner has started a fundraiser.
Sabrina Gao set up a GoFundMe page and said of her mother, Jasmine Chen, that “I would really like to surprise her and try to help her rebuild everything.”
Chen has owned Chin Chin for the last 15 years, and was called to the scene in the early morning hours Tuesday as the standalone restaurant on 617 Johnson Ferry Road burned to ground.
Cobb Fire said 911 calls came shortly after 1 a.m. In her GoFundMe message, Gao said that she woke up to her mother on a phone call telling her about the fire, and she soon followed.
“I took my sister with me and drove to her restaurant at 2 in the morning. . . . My family is devastated.”
Gao, who attended Walton High School, said the restaurant became something of a second home for her and her siblings, who grew up without their father around.
“It makes me sad to think about how my mom feels. . . . My mom would always take me and my siblings to ChinChin to watch after us since she didn’t want us to be home alone.”
Gao has set a fundraising goal of $15,000, and has raised nearly $2,000 in the first day.
Cobb Fire said the restaurant’s roof collapsed and the fire spread quickly, and with more than 30 firefighters on the scene the blaze took nearly five hours to put out. The cause is still being investigated, according to district chief Justin Green.
“She is lost right now without a clue on what to do,” Gao said of her mother. “Lots of people lost their jobs today, but my family and I lost our homes today.”
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