EDEN, N.Y. — An Eden restaurant is stepping up to the plate to assist those whose homes and property were damaged by a tornado, which touched down on Wednesday.
Like most in these parts, Jeff Walker, the managing partner at Rayzors Dawg House on North Main Street, has a story to tell about about the storm.
"A lightning bolt hit right over there," he recalled, gesturing to a location just south of the restaurant. "Everyone started running right inside."
Though his location was spared from the tornado, which hit a mile or so away, he soon heard about it and watched newscasts depicting the damages.
"During dinner my fiancé Kim looked at me and said, 'We have to do something. We have to give back to the community who gives to us,' " he said.
So on Saturday, they'll be serving up free ice cream.
"Which is one scoop of hard ice cream or one soft serve," Walker said.
They are hoping that when customers are served their free ice cream, they will in turn make a donation for those effected by the storm, which the Dawg House will then match dollar for dollar, as well as putting up a portion of the proceeds from the days sales of other menu items sold.
"I think it's the right thing to do," Walker said.
On Friday evening, even though the fundraiser hadn't officially kicked off, people were already donating, which came as no surprise to Walker.
"Being in Western New York, and having grown up in Buffalo, that's what we're all about," he said. "We come out pretty strong when someone is effected in this community."