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103 Bambino's Pizzeria will donate 50 percent of its proceeds Friday to families displaced by the April 1 fire in Hampton Bays.
A pizzeria in Westhampton will host a special fundraising event Friday, April 15, to raise money for the five families who lost everything after a fire tore through the apartment complex where they lived in Hampton Bays on April 1.
Luis Xiquín and his wife, Vicenta Velásquez, owners of 103 Bambino's Pizzeria in Westhampton Beach, will donate 50 percent of all proceeds to benefit the affected families.
“We are a community and we have to support each other,” Xiquín said. “When my wife and I found out about the tragedy, we felt the need to help them. What they are going through right now is heartbreaking, we have to do our part."
"The need to help," as Xiquin said, is something that the couple has done since the restaurant first opened on March 1, 2020. Little did they know that, just a few weeks later, they would have to close their doors down, leaving them with hundreds of dollars of fresh produce sitting on their shelves.
Faced with an uncertain future and seeing the despair of so many, Xiquin and Velásquez decided to do what they could in the best way they knew: cooking delicious pizzas. They contacted Northwell Health, and batch after batch, delivered dozens of pizza pies to the health care workers.
Since then, the couple has offered special discounts for health care and sanitary workers.
“Life goes up and down, sometimes we are well and sometimes we are not, but what is important is to be united, to help each other,” Xiquín said. "I'm glad we could help health care workers then. They are important not only during a pandemic but always."
Now, once again, 103 Bambino's Pizzeria is gearing up to help. By ordering any of the items on the menu this Friday —Neapolitan-style, 12-inch wood-fired pizzas, locally sourced starters and sides, and more — the goal of fundraising enough money for the families to relocate somewhere new and rebuild their lives will be a little bit closer.
"Each dollar counts," Xiquin said, and added, "Come Friday. Help us make a difference. These families need it."
103 Bambino's Pizzeria will be open Friday, April 15, from noon to 9 p.m. The pizzeria is located at 103 Main Street in Westhampton Beach.
A GoFundMe campaign to assist all the affected families is ongoing.
