WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — The Panacea community rallied around Mineral Springs Seafood after a 22-year-old woman lost control of her truck and crashed into the restaurant just after 3 a.m. on Saturday.
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The owners of Mineral Springs Seafood said neighbors arrived before sunrise to help clean debris and temporarily patch the building until a full repair can be completed. By 6 p.m. that day, the community had helped restore the building to a functional state.
Tim Williams, owner of Mineral Springs Seafood, described the response.
"We got here at 4:30 in the morning. My parking lot was full of the locals in this community saying, 'What can we do to help?' And I mean, there's really no words for that."
The support continued into the following days. Neighbors purchased all of the restaurant's food inventory to prevent it from going to waste.
"So Sunday when we got here, and 30 minutes before we opened, our parking lot was completely packed of people buying stuff, even stuff they didn't need. They were saying, 'We'll buy it and freeze it.' We literally sold everything in the building."
Williams reflected on what the outpouring of support has meant.
"The people in this community are different than anywhere I've ever been. It just seems like you know everybody has it. They pull together and they help each other, and it just my heart is full."
Other local businesses also stepped in. Phillip Simpson and Tiffany Lufcy, owners of Classic Customs Auto Restoration & Collision Center, began raising money for Mineral Springs Seafood by selling drinks, making pins for neighbors to purchase, and hosting a raffle.
Simpson said he reached out immediately after learning about the crash.
"I texted him the first first morning there. Said if he needed any help, any trailers, fall off debris, anything like that, and that was my first response to him. And my wife, she she took upon herself to set up our food trailer and sell drinks and give all the all the money to Tim that we made and set up there."
The couple said giving back is central to how they operate their business.
"It all goes back to you give to the community, the community gives back," Simpson said.
"The world's cruel enough, a little kindness can't hurt," Lufcy said.
"When everybody comes together, you see how much you know respect and love we have for our small businesses," Simpson said.
Williams is also coordinating a charity golf tournament to continue raising funds for the business. Any money raised beyond what is needed for repairs will be donated to the woman injured in the crash.
"We have children that age, and I mean, the idea of something happening to your child is the worst thing I can imagine personally. And and my heart is broken for them. I know what they're dealing with right now, and and I wish there was something I could do to make it better for them."
Williams expressed gratitude to the community and asked for prayers for the driver's recovery.
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