‘Returning the favor’: Community rallies around Hudson small business owners in time of need

In the heart of Hudson, Wisconsin, there’s a place where neighbors in need of a hot cup of joe, a safe space to sit, or a job are always welcome.

Regular patrons, former employees and friends of many years say locally owned restaurant Urban Olive and Vine is a beacon for countless people.

“This became a place during a really difficult time for me and my children, that we just loved, we enjoyed,” shared patron and fellow business owner Erin Powers.

“It was at a time when it wasn’t real easy to get a job, and Chad was the one who took me in and saw potential in me,” said former employee Reid Filiatreaux.

Filiatreaux is now a sous-chef at another restaurant down the street.

“There’s no one else in town, no one else in town who would hire as many high schoolers as he does. He goes out of their way to train them, to build them up,” he continued, referring to owner Chad Trainor.

Chad and his wife Carol Trainor run Urban Olive and Vine together, but were noticeably absent during the Sunday visit.

Chad wrote on social media recently that Carol “is very ill” and has been in and out of the hospital as doctors work to figure out what’s behind her symptoms.

“I just had this, really, gut feeling something’s going on,” Powers said.

“I reached out and asked him, like, ‘What can we do for you? We can, like, name it. We will do it for you.’ And he kept saying, ‘No, No, we’re fine. We’re fine.’”

In the meantime, the Trainors have had to cut hours at the restaurant short just as medical bills pile up.

“And I felt, we have to do something,” Powers said. “And I launched the GoFundMe without his permission.”

The Trainors would never ask for help, she said. But they didn’t need to. Members of the community from Hudson to River Falls and beyond said the couple has given so much to them already, and it was time to return the favor.

“I don’t even think Chad knew how much impact he has on the community,” Powers said. “Let us do what you’ve done for so many others.”

“One of the evidences of how much he really cares for the community is right across the street,” shared patron and friend Dan Bruch, showing support on Sunday with his wife Liz.

“A competitor just opened a little while ago, and Liz and I were in there to check out the competitor and who should come in but Chad, offering help to them.”

Together with Carol, the Trainors are a true team of two, he said.

“I would say she was almost the motor that kept the place buzzing,” Dan Bruch continued.

“She did the hiring, she did the buying. She was a superb waitress…just a generous and gentle person.”

“Thinking about the different people who come here, it’s a community, and it’s love,” Liz Bruch added.

“Really, sounds a little corny, but we sure need it.”

“If we could all be a little bit more like Chad and Carol, it’d be a better place,” Filiatreaux said.

The outpouring of support from the community was also evident in the donations to the Gofundme page Powers created on their behalf.

“They’ve given far more than we could give back to them, I think,” Dan Bruch concluded.

Chad Trainor did not want to be interviewed for this story, but he did share a brief statement.

“All I hope is that everything that is happening to us in the present is because of how we’ve been in the past,” he wrote.