Hello everyone.

Hello everyone. The Township of Verona ordered us to close our doors. We come to you with very heavy hearts today. But with all honesty, I want to tell you why we are leaving Verona. For those who don't know, my name is Carissa and Martha and we are the owners of Bella Princess and Bella Princess Cafe. For over 20 years, Bella Princess has been bringing joy and unforgettable memories to your children and families. This has been our life's work. Our passion and our families' livelihood. Unfortunately, when towns make decisions like this, they don't think of the big picture. They think they have complete immunity and small businesses like ours truly suffer. Last night after hours of spending time in the courthouse fighting for what's right, I had to come home at 11 PM to pick up my daughters. I'm sorry. They came into the car and they asked Mommy, how did it go? And I had to say to them, girls, it didn't go too well. To which my older daughter in the back seat replied to her little sister saying, well, Capri, there goes our future. Things like this, these decisions, rash decisions affecting small businesses, cause a ripple effect. It's not just our livelihood, it's our lives, the blood, the sweat, the tears we put into creating this beautiful whimsical facility. Time with my children when they were little, that I spent away from them on weekends, missed games, missed birthday parties, all to be here and serve the community in a beautiful way, bringing happiness to others. When we opened our beautiful location in Verona, we did everything right. We worked with the town, we followed every rule, the Township of Verona officially approved and issued our permit in 2023. We then invested our life savings into building a pristine, magical safe space for your children. Then everything changed. Following a completely unrelated incident at a different venue in town, the Township of Verona made a decision that has devastated our small business and our family without any fault of our own. Without a single complaint against us, they rescinded our valid permit. Last night, we stood before the board of adjustment and fought with everything we had. We presented our case, we showed our record, we showed two and a half years of flawless operations. They denied our appeal anyway. And ordered us to close our doors. That our only path forward was to spend tens of thousands of dollars and months of our lives applying for a use variance. Essentially asking permission to fix a mistake that was never ours to begin with. We are not going quietly. What was done to Bella Princess was unjust, it's unfair. And we just ask if in any way, if you can help us. One, would be to like, share, comment on this post as many eyes we can get on it, the better. They need to know what was done to us should not be done to any other business. Two, support our business. We offer off-site entertainment, party packages where you can still support us that way. If you're looking to come to us, share our website, share our page with others that are looking to bring magical experiences to you. Finally, three, if you or you know a realtor, help us find our new home of business in Morris or Essex County. If you are a realtor or know a realtor that can help us find our next home where we're wanted and appreciated, please reach out to us, send us a DM, send us an email. We're looking in the Morris town, Essex County area. We would appreciate all of your help. Thank you for being with us today. There will be more to share and we apologize.