TosaFest unites community, helping local businesses after historic flooding

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- It's been a rough couple of weeks for businesses and residents in Wauwatosa following August’s historic flooding.

“The reality is all of these businesses could use a little bit of extra love,” said Maria Panno, executive director of the Wauwatosa Business Improvement District.

However, despite the damage and challenges many continue to face - TosaFest is back.

“Everybody that was right up against the river definitely got hit hard and we lost a lot of things, but the reality is TosaFest was still happening and it was still on our radar,” said Panno. “Which is really exciting that the community wasn’t a woe is me and said, all right, we’re ready, how can we do this quickly. And we were able to make that happen.”

This year’s longtime tradition of TosaFest bringing more than just fun to the village but support to local businesses.

“I walked in there was four feet of water in our basement,” said Julianna Caspers, who works at the Vendetta Coffee Bar. “The fact that we were still able to do this after the flood is just amazing. Tosa people are like driven and like thriving throughout it.”

Restaurants like Café Hollander having to get creative in their services, bringing in food from Buckatabon Tavern and Supper Club next door, while providing their own drinks for customers as they continue to repair the damage.

“We don’t have a kitchen yet, it’s being rebuilt from that flooding situation,” said Molly Canan, director of events for the Lowlands Group. “We really tried to get creative and get our staff on board as well, so we can support their careers.”

Residents enjoyed a good time and were happy to help their community in its time of need.

“A lot of people were affected,” said Wauwatosa resident Kyle Matyas. "So, it’s important to kind of give back to the community that we’re in and just help the people around us. There’s a lot of really good small businesses in the area, so any opportunity to support them is a great one.”