With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Texans are doing whatever they can to help Ukrainians including sending money and supplies according to a Dallas Morning News article from March 4 which reports,
“Olena Jacobs usually sells Ukrainian-style embroidered clothing and accessories out of her cozy shop in North Dallas.
“Everybody wants Ukrainian things now, and at the same time we’re running a supply drive, and we’re preparing things for shipment,” she said, adding that more than a hundred items are on back-order because of the increase in demand.
Volunteers have been flowing in and out of her store, Ukie Style Embroidery Art, throughout the day to drop off supplies. The store is collecting money to send to Ukraine, and all of the profits will be donated to that country for the time being, she said.
Allen resident Yulia Reed, who was born in Russia, said her family is of Ukrainian descent. She said she has close friends who are currently in Ukraine, and some of them are stuck in a basement with multiple children.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, Reed said she and a group of Ukrainian friends in North Texas started raising money for donations. As of Wednesday, Reed said, she and her friends had raised about $4,000.”
Restaurants and especially bars are also taking actions in support of Ukraine just in time after Governor Gregg Abott encouraged the removal of all Russian goods including Vodka according to a Dallas Morning News article from March 7. They say,
Dallas Hale, the president and CEO of Shell Shack and Sushi Marquee, said he and his team made the call to stop serving Russian vodka at all of their restaurants, which was “an easy decision,” but the vodka brand they did away with is Stoli, a Latvian vodka company that has vocalized its support for Ukraine and condemned the Russian invasion.
At Apothecary, a cocktail bar on Lower Greenville, a $500 caviar service called the Kremlin is now called Mariinsky Palace, named after the ceremonial residence of Ukraine’s president.
Fort Brewery in Fort Worth made a new brew, Molotov, and is donating a portion of proceeds to the Pravda Beer Theatre in Lviv, Ukraine — a craft brewery that is now churning out Molotov cocktails in glass bottles instead of beer.
Oak Lawn bar Alexandre’s created a layered blue and yellow shot called the “[Expletive] Putin” and is donating all proceeds from the drink to aid groups helping Ukrainians, like Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen organization, which is operating meal sites at border crossings in Poland.
In Austin, the Russian owner of a restaurant called the Russian House changed the name to just House as an act of solidarity with Ukrainians.”
While the banning of Russian goods and beverages are being encouraged, officials and people are also reminding store and restaurant owners to be mindful not to remove those goods that are only Russian in nature and are not imported from Russia.
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