Aiken Speakeasy and Eats opened its doors Thursday with a mission: To raise as much money as possible for residents who lost their homes at The Colony at Southpark fire on July 20.
Before the benefit even started, money was already being donated to the benefit.
"I got here this morning, and someone had slipped an envelope under the door with $500 in it," said Angela Richardson, the manager at Speakeasy. "It's amazing how much people want to contribute."
Within the first hour, an estimated $2,000 had been collected, according to Speakeasy owner Arlene Iannelli.
The plan for delivering the money is still in the planning stages, but Iannelli has suggested dividing the funds equally into gift cards and giving the cards to each family.
"I would safely say we have about 80 to 90 dinners, and that's without walk-ins," said Richardson.
A raffle for a bottle of Angel's Envy whiskey was also held. Tickets were $5.
Most of the guests at Speakeasy didn't know any victims of The Colony fire personally.
"It's for a good cause, and we wanted to help," said Nancy Langlois as she listened to the acoustic stylings of Augusta native Chris Ndeti.
Nobody was injured after an apartment fire at The Colony left 22 people without a home.
Will Whaley is the crime and court reporter for the Aiken Standard.
He is a native of Fayette, Alabama, and graduated from the University of North Alabama.