MANTEO, N.C. — It's been almost a week since a house explosion shook the Roanoke Island community. But that has not stopped the community from stepping up to help the people involved.
The Lost Colony Tavern is now hosting a benefit and fundraiser on Saturday to continue that mission and allow anyone in the Outer Banks to help the Beacham and Creef families get back on their feet.
“We were both scrambling, like, what do we do? What can we do?" said Jared Sadler, co-owner of the Lost Colony Tavern.
“We were in disbelief when this happened," Geno Seay, co-owner of the Lost Colony Tavern, expressed.
Those are the reactions that the owners had when they heard the news about the house explosion on Dogwood Trail in Manteo.
Watch previous coverage: No cause determined yet in Manteo house explosion
Alan Beacham was medflighted to a hospital in Norfolk, where he is still recovering. Buddy and Kate Creef lost their home and everything inside it.
Seay and Sadler both know the Beachams and Creefs. Buddy Creef is not only their landlord, but has also been a close friend of theirs for years.
“I started going to the Pioneer theater when he was the owner of that. Whatever he was playing is what I'd see that week. So we got to be good friends that way," said Seay.
“I've known Buddy for a very long time. When I worked law enforcement here, he owned the movie theater, so when I was driving around town at night, he would see me, he'd flag me down, say, 'Hey, man, would you like something to drink? Would you like popcorn, something to snack on?' So we built a relationship way before this was ever even an idea of the restaurant," said Sadler.
Watch more: 1 person medflighted after Outer Banks house explosion; crews attack multi-alarm fire
The Lost Colony Tavern is now working to help the Beachams and Creefs get back on their feet. During their music bingo and live music on Saturday, the tavern will be accepting donations and matching the amount raised.
From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., all the money will be going to help with Beacham's medical expenses in his recovery.
Donations for the Creefs, such as money, clothing, nonperishable items and pet supplies, will be accepted from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. the same night.
“We felt it was our commitment to the community to come out and do something," said Seay.
“It's a small community, man, so we're all family here. Soon as we heard, we knew we had to do something, and I know it's not probably going to be enough, but we just want to do anything we can to help," said Sadler.
The event will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and the restaurant will also be creating a QR code that will allow anyone unable to attend the event to continue donating to the families.
For more information, head to the Lost Colony Tavern's Facebook page here.
