04/11/2023
I’ve been putting off making a post about this because I didn’t really know what to say, but we lost a dear friend and coworker last week. Matt didn’t like having his photo taken, so this is the only thing I have handy, but that’s one small regret on top of a pile of others like it. He was a kind man, first and foremost, and he formed a lot of great relationships in his time with us. He was quiet, but his comedic timing was on point, and he knew when to make a quip that’d crack everyone up. Thirty two years of life was a fraction of what he deserved to spend on this planet, and it’s a worse place without him.
As profound as the loss is for us, the loss that his wife has been dealt is immeasurably worse. The two of them had only just begun their lives together, and suddenly that path forward vanished. They have pets that they loved, a house, a foundation of a life together. While she processes that grief and finds her new path, we’d like to help raise some money so that she doesn’t have to spend a moment worrying about bills.
There are two ways that you can help. On Wednesday, April 19th, we’ll be opening for a special service. All of the sales from that day will be donated to Matt’s wife, and I really want to see a full dining room that night. Reservations are available by visiting https://www.exploretock.com/fitzgeraldsrestaurant and selecting April 19th.
If you’re unable to attend, or would otherwise like to make a donation separate from dinner that day, you can visit https://www.exploretock.com/fitzgeraldsrestaurant and either scroll down or click on the “Events” tab. The event is named “Matt’s Benefit Donation”, and there are tickets that can be purchased in $20 increments. You can buy as many as you’d like, but even one helps to show Matt’s wife how much he was appreciated by the community.
We all have to deal with loss in our lives, and some are harder to deal with than others. As the staff stood in my kitchen the night we all found out, I knew that this was going to be one of the hardest things we’ve gone through as a group. In my mind, one of the best ways to feel better about a bad thing is to do a good thing, and us collectively being there for Matt’s wife is the one thing that I know he would have wanted to ask us for. Please, from the bottom of my heart, show up for him.
