On Monday morning, Destin Fire Control District, along with multiple other departments, responded to a kitchen fire at Bonefish Grill on Emerald Coast Pkwy in Destin. 

According to the report from Destin Fire, the fire started in the kitchen and pushed into the attic space. Early-arriving crews were able to put an aggressive stop to the fire before it extended into neighboring businesses.

• As a result of the fire, the restaurant is now temporarily closed due to the damage. 

With the restaurant being closed the week of Christmas, local resident and service industry representative Gil Osterloh has stepped up to organize a fundraiser to help the employees during the holiday. 

Osterloh announced that Emerald Coast Community Cares Foundation has established a relief fund account with Synovus Bank to help the employees. 

“The restaurant is closed until further notice, which greatly affects the financial situations of the staff,” said Osterloh. “This is especially tough on them given it’s Christmas and the week leading up to it typically brings a lot of generous tips and customer appreciation.”

• Osterloh said they plan to distribute donations directly to the staff after the close of business on Friday, December 23rd.

“Our goal is to generate enough donations to help the staff provide for their families at Christmas and to also help lessen upcoming burdens such as January rent, which will be due in a little more than a week,” he added. “Please help donate to this cause. If you’ve ever worked in the service industry, or know someone that does, then you know how much this must hurt coming at this time of year.”

You can donate one of the following ways:

• At any Synovus Bank branch in the Panhandle (Pensacola, Pace, Gulf Breeze, Crestview, Eglin AFB, Niceville, FWB, Destin) by telling them you want to donate to the Emerald Coast Cares Relief Fund.
• Through this GoFundMe account here: https://gofund.me/11679901
• Through the ECCCF Venmo https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3272835015376896761
• By check or cash (can be dropped off with Wayne Anderson at Cabana Cafe or message Gil directly on Facebook.)