A community fundraiser is underway to help a Capitol Hill food and drink couple who have been working to build a new name in Puerto Rican cuisine in Seattle out of the kitchen at E Olive Way watering hole The Wash.

CHS would rather be telling you about Jesus Dumois and Heather Dowai and Chamorikén’s chicken and shrimp plates, chop-cheese sandwiches, and empanadas but a July 16th car crash has left both with serious injuries:

Thankfully, all involved survived but are recovering from debilitating injuries. Heather is undergoing multiple surgeries, and Chef Jesus is recovering from fractured ribs and thumbs, which will make it difficult to immediately return to making the food we all love. It will be some time until they are able to start working again.

Dumois and Dowai have been building Chamorikén into a bright spot in Capitol Hill bar food, growing from an outside grill pop-up to a long-term residence at the E Olive Way nightspot that debuted under owners Emilio Esparza and Nick Fizer in May 2024.

Seattle Met says the six months since Chamorikén’s big step up at The Wash over the winter had been a big success with the food fitting hand in glove with the bar’s place as “one of the city’s and PNW’s best queer bars without being an ‘official’ gay bar.”

For now, Chamorikén’s growth as a business will have to be put on hold. The focus is on recovery and helping Dumois and Dowai return to health.

“If you have ever met Jesus and Heather, you know they are genuinely kind, selfless people who radiate love and work tirelessly as small business owners,” the fundraiser reads. “They love what they do and are amazing parents to their two children, one of whom requires lifelong medical care.”

You can give here.

UPDATE: The Wash says the kitchen remains open if you are looking for another way to support their recovery. The Wash has also been donating proceeds from Jell-O shots to the couple and is planning a possible fundraiser party.

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