GAITHERSBURG – It was one of the busiest lunch rushes in recent memory at Dogfish Head Alehouse and for very good reason. Both regulars and first-time diners were there to get in on a gift for a local family.
The restaurant management is donating 20 percent of Monday’s proceeds to the Gemmell family. Ken Gemmell lost his wife, Marie, and their two sons when a plane hit their home short of Montgomery Airpark earlier in December.
Inside the restaurant, customers had no trouble waiting for a table knowing their time spent meant more money for the Gemmells.
“We’ve been waiting about 45 minutes,” says Bruce Benner, who went out for lunch with his co-workers after getting an email about the fundraiser.
“It was kind of a no-brainer to come and try to help this family out,” Benner says.
A waitress at the restaurant, Jenifer Miller, started an online fundraiser for the family who used to dine in her section before the accident. She says she was moved not only because the Gemmell home sat very near her mother’s house, but because if something like this happened to her family, she would hope someone would do the same for her, she says.
“I feel so deeply for this family and I think it really is a cause that has hit so many peoples’ hearts. It’s unbelievable,” Miller says.
The online fundraiser Miller started for the Gemmell’s is well over $480,000, however giving has dropped off. That’s why she asked her managers to host the day-long event.
Other Dogfish Head Alehouse locations have donated two gift baskets that are part of a silent auction set up at the front of the restaurant. The restaurant closes at 11 p.m.
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