The lunchtime lineup at a Mary Brown’s in Fredericton reached out the door on May 14 — most people coming to support the family of 14-year-old Layla Rodgerson.
She was an employee at the Douglas Avenue restaurant before she and three other young people died in a car crash on May 5. Monique Gallant, the operations manager, said it’s been really hard for staff since then.
“Some of us were like a mom to her, sometimes when she would come in, so it’s been really, really tough,” she said.
To prepare for the fundraiser, staff worked overnight until 4 a.m. before starting again at 6 a.m. cutting over 1,000 pounds of potatoes and more than 3,600 pieces of chicken.
But by noon, customers were limited to three orders each and told there would be a 20-minute wait. That was due in part to 608 pre-orders the restaurant received before having to stop offering pre-orders.
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“Everything has been done by hand right here by our staff, who have jumped in with open arms saying, ‘I’ll do what I can, I’ll stay as long as I can, I will help where I can,’ and they’ve been amazing,” she said.
Leo Hayes High School, where both Rodgerson and another victim, 17-year-old Owen Fairweather, attended, picked up 62 orders.
Tanya McBride is a resource teacher at the school. She worked with Rodgerson and described her as outgoing, quick-witted and bubbly.
“It’s been a huge impact. It’s going to take a long time for people to recover,” she said.
Evan McNeill is in Grade 12 at the school, and came to the fundraiser with friends.
“It’s sad, very sad to hear in our community, and even in our own school, something like that to happen,” he said.
The line to order remained outside the door until staff began to turn people away at 1:15 p.m. for the fast-food restaurant to close for two hours to give staff time to recoup.
By that time, the fundraiser had sold more than 1,000 meals, totalling about $7,000.
Staff expected to sell another 1,000 meals for dinner and raise money in the donation boxes set out at three locations, with a goal of raising $20,000.
For Gallant, the turnout was more than expected.
“Everybody’s been amazing, customers have been really great and patient, so thankful for that,” she said.