Downtown Silver Spring restaurant & music venue Silver Strings is featured in a new Montgomery County Council video about the county’s Public Health Emergency Grant Program.
Silver Strings, which was opened by Zed’s Cafe owner Zed Mekonnen in September 2019, received a PHEG grant from the county.
“The county grant, they gave us about $10,000, it was really helpful to buy food, keep the payroll and pay the employees,” Mekonnen said in the video about the program.
The county stopped accepting applications in late April. “Montgomery County continues to review and verify grant applications,” the county’s PHEG website states. “All applicants will receive a notification from the County as to whether their grant application has been accepted or denied.”
Also shown in the video are some of the changes that Silver Strings has made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including opening pick-up windows at the front and back of the restaurant.
Mekonnen was also featured in local photographer Jonna Huseman’s photo series, Life in the Time of the Coronavirus: Voices from Silver Spring:
“I hope we learn a lot from this because we are very interconnected. Even globally, not just here in Silver Spring. As humans, we are here for a very limited time. You have to look at what is really important. When you think about life and follow that trajectory, you end up with the question, “What is my purpose in life?” The answer, in my opinion, is that we are made for each other.
“My niece is a nurse, my sister-in-law is a doctor. For them, it’s like, wow. Our life is meaningless without these people. They are out there saving lives and my job is just making cappuccinos. It puts things in perspective. You realize there are people out there risking their lives for other people.”
Photo: Montgomery County Council/YouTube