Brewery restaurant collects donations for the family of an employee who died in a quad bike accident

BREWER, Maine (WABI) – After the sudden death of one of their employees, a Brewer restaurant is trying to raise money for his family.

According to a GoFundMe campaign, Willie Lumpkin died in an ATV accident on Friday, August 23.

Lumpkin was a longtime friend and colleague of Charles Kindya, co-owner of Smokey's BBQ.

After Willie's death, Smokey's was closed for a few days to give everyone time to grieve.

But since yesterday they have been open again and now have a new goal: to raise money for Lumpkin's family left behind.

From now through Sunday, Smokey's is collecting donations and donating 30% of all sales to Lumpkin's family, including his 14-year-old daughter.

“He was always here waving and asking how people were doing. Most people thought he owned the store, which is cool. He's a huge loss to the community. He would go and hold the door open for the older ladies across the street as they came or went to Cap's. One of the nicest, friendliest guys I knew. Super helpful, helped strangers. If you knew him, you would know. I really don't have the words for it. He was one of a kind,” Kindya said.

Smokey's BBQ is located at 500 South Main Street in Brewer.

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