When disaster struck Lakeview, community and a caring lender made all the difference.
On an ordinary afternoon at La Playa Cocina & Cantina, guests were laughing over margaritas, servers moved quickly between tables, and the kitchen hummed along. The skies looked calm. There was no hint of what was coming.
Bethany South had just left work to head home and check on her daughter when her phone rang.
“A girlfriend of mine called and screamed, ‘Run, run, run! There’s a tornado on the ground!’”
Without thinking, Bethany raced back toward the restaurant — toward her staff and guests.
“Everyone was just eating, drinking margaritas like nothing was happening,” she remembers. “I ran in, two big dogs at my side, and shouted for everyone to listen.
‘This isn’t a warning — it’s real. We need to take cover now!’”
Some guests moved toward the walk-in cooler, but Bethany directed them to the bar instead. The historic bar—anchored since the 1930s—became their shield.
“We hooked our arms on the foot rails… The winds picked me up and spun me around. I crawled back into the building.”
For minutes that felt like hours, the ceiling “breathed,” the pressure crushed their ears, and “it sounded like a literal freight train.”
In a moment of eerie calm, people started to stand.
“No, no, no—back down,” Bethany urged. The second blast hit.
When it finally passed, silence gave way to screams outside.
“It was like a horror movie… a zombie apocalypse. No lights. Just ‘help, help me.’”
Picking up the pieces
The next morning, shock gave way to action.
“I went straight into emptying the freezers, emptying the coolers, donating as much as possible… Then I started ordering dumpsters.”
Neighbors showed up with gloves, kids, and tractors. “We filled five dumpsters… We cleared the whole lot in one day.”
A local roofer appeared—“He offered me a roof for a third of what others wanted — just because he loved this community.”
But the building was badly damaged. The kitchen roof was gone, the back wall smashed, rain pouring in.
Bethany owned the restaurant business — but not the building.
“There was no insurance coverage,” she explains. “The landlord offered to sell, but I’d never bought commercial property before… I started reaching my hands out.”
Big-bank answers were discouraging: “No, we can’t touch that” or numbers that “were so astronomical it wasn’t achievable.”
The moment it turned
Bethany invested her retirement savings and began repairs, hoping for a path forward. Then she reconnected with Becky at Richwood Bank.
“The process was amazing,” Bethany says. “From that first conversation, I don’t think I’d felt that secure since the day of the tornado.”
Everything finally started to click.
“In my mind it was like the gears of a clock — click, click, click. Everything just fell into place.”
Becky guided her through each step.
“She made everything painless. If something didn’t work, she gave me options. There were no closed doors — ever.”
Bethany signed the papers.
“I cried all the way home… Walking out with those papers saying, I own this building—it is mine—and thanks to Richwood Bank, that was possible.”
She ran into the restaurant, packet in hand.
“My whole staff just started cheering and screaming… It was a phenomenal day I’ll never forget.”
More than a loan: hope, dignity, and a path forward
In the months that followed, Bethany poured herself into a full remodel: gutting the 4,000-square-foot bar, inviting an artist from Buffalo to paint new murals, and turning devastation into a fresh start.
“This was my chance to make something beautiful out of trauma,” she says. “Among all the devastation, there was still life. We all got a second chance.”
When La Playa reopened, the regulars returned — farmers, families, and familiar faces she’d missed more than she realized.
“The first week we were open, I was an emotional wreck because I missed them… I watch people date through high school, get married, have children. In 13 years, I’ve seen a lot.”
What Bethany tells other business owners
“I recommend Richwood Bank to everyone,” Bethany says. “The process was simple, not overwhelming. And they genuinely care.”
“When you hit hardships in life, Richwood is the kind of bank that shows up. Becky cared about what was happening in our lives. She made me feel like I mattered when I needed that most.”
“Richwood Bank will forever be a huge part of our story.”
A partner in every kind of storm
La Playa Cocina & Cantina’s comeback is more than a reconstruction story. It’s proof that in the hardest moments, a bank that listens, adapts, and acts—locally—can restore more than a building. It can restore confidence, jobs, and a community’s heartbeat.
