SELBYVILLE, Del. - Crabcake Factory Bayside in Selbyville is giving back after facing a similar hardship, bringing the community together on Sunday to support Mancini’s Brick Oven Pizzeria and Restaurant after a deadly crash.
The restaurant hosted a "Crabcakin' For a Cause" fundraiser featuring raffle items, live music, and plenty of crabcakes. Crabcake Factory Bayside said they plan to donate 20 percent of their sales from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to the pizzeria.
Just over a week ago, a truck crashed into Mancini’s, killing an 80-year-old woman and injuring her 17-year-old granddaughter. The crash also caused significant damage to the restaurant, forcing it to close temporarily.
Mancini’s owner Gabriel Mancini says the days since the crash have been difficult, but the outpouring of support has helped.
“It’s been emotional the whole time for us, but we’re going to get through this, we hope,” Mancini tells CoastTV.
Mancini says seeing people rally around the restaurant is another example of how communities across the coastal region respond when their neighbors are facing adversity.
“This isn’t a one-off for this community; they come together every time there’s adversity,” Mancini says. “I’ve been involved in many of these when other people needed help. It’s amazing how this town comes together, how this community, it’s not just the town, it’s not just Fenwick, it’s not just Ocean City, it’s not Bethany, it’s everyone.”
For the team at Crabcake Factory Bayside, the fundraiser was also a full-circle moment.
In January, a car crashed into the restaurant’s kitchen, injuring an employee and forcing the business to temporarily close. Crabcake Factory Bayside owner Jeff Mushrush said the news of the crash at Mancini’s immediately brought back memories of what his own restaurant had experienced.
“I got a text 40 minutes after it happened and let her know, and it all came back again,” Mushrush says.
After the support his restaurant received following its crash, Mushrush says organizing a fundraiser for Mancini’s was an easy decision.
“That’s the whole thing, is we’re giving back,” Mushrush says. “What they gave us, we are now forwarding. You know, that’s the proper thing to do, and this community, Lower Sussex Delaware, amazing. Amazing.”
From hugs between neighbors to food shared around the table, Sunday’s fundraiser offered another example of a community showing up for one another during some of its hardest moments.
