Long-time Tucker Farmers Market vendor Tim Fitzgerald, the owner of Fitzgerald Smoked Meats, has a personal stake in helping businesses affected by Hurricane Helene recover.
His daughter, Kathryn, the co-owner of Regina’s in Asheville, is struggling to stay in business and provide a paycheck to her employees.
According to Fitzgerald, the restaurant has power but no water service, forcing Kathryn to transport certified water to operate.
In order for water to be certified, it must be tested by a third-party entity so it can allow it to be used for specific uses, including for human consumption.
Bringing in certified water is one of the expensive challenges that Regina’s is facing, Fitzgerald said.
“They are struggling,” he said. “They are fighting to keep her employees’ paychecks coming in.”
Regina’s, according to its website, has been forced to reduce hours of operation “while Asheville rebuilds its infrastructure,” and is closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fitzgerald, who also runs a successful catering business, has made it his mission to help his daughter by collecting cash “in any way I can.”
He has placed a donation jar at his food truck at the last two weekly Tucker Farmers Market events. Last week, he collected about $400 and he plans to keep the grassroots effort going even thought the Tucker market has closed for the season.
“I’m not going to quit,” he said. “You’ll probably see me by the side of the road next.”
Kathryn has also started a GoFundMe page, which has collected about $7,000 of its $20,000 goal.
“We want to ensure the future of Regina’s, but we are running out of resources to do so,” the commentary on the page said. “Our establishment is so special because we have created a wonderful group of people who stand with us and support us every day and we just want to be able to have a place for them to come back to.”