Photo By: Chloe Mai
On February 9, 2024, at around 3:10am, Rising Sun Produce experienced a fire which caused its first and only long-term closure since its opening in 1979. For years, Rising Sun has been the go-to spot for students as it carries budget-friendly produce and is stocked with a variety of snacks and spices.
To help get this beloved store back up and running after the fire, GoFundMes were created by the Ravenna community and the landlord helped to cover the renovation costs. Thanks to the sup-
port of persistent customers, friends, and family, Rising Sun was able to announce in August that it would rebuild.
Bud Goodwin, the owner of Rising Sun, admits that due to the fire, the question of reopening was unknown. “When the fire first happened, and we came here…it was a disaster. The doors were all broken down, the place was filled with smoke, I thought there was no way we could continue.” While the fire didn’t make it into the building, Goodwin stated that “it got really really hot inside the store, so hot that it melted the cash register… all the produce we had in there was destroyed too.”
One of Goodwin’s employees suggested creating a GoFundMe page, but he was reluctant as he did not want
anyone to give him anything. Despite his hesitance, “As soon as [Goodwin’s employee] started it, there was an incredible response from the community.”
Goodwin wanted to give thanks to the community, so prior to its opening, Rising Sun hosted a restoration party of about 350 people. Since its opening, Rising Sun has always had a large community. Despite all the help, it will still take about 6 months to a year to get the store back up and running.