Local Residents Raise Money For Restaurateur With Cancer By Volunteering To Operate His Restaurant

When Mike Rothman, 53, the owner of the beloved Skippy's Hot Dogs in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was hospitalized with a severe form of brain cancer, he had to close the restaurant and move to Pennsylvania for rehabilitation.Local residents and fans of Mike's hot dogs volunteered to give back by reopening Skippy's Hot Dogs for a week, and donating every single penny to Mike's recovery.

Dubbed "Mike's Week," volunteers and other local restaurateurs reopened the restaurant from April 23-30, and raised more than $111,000 to help pay for their friend and neighbor's medical bills. Although Skippy's signature pretzel and pretzel buns were not served, more than 13,000 hot dogs were sold.

"It was like opening a new restaurant with new staff twice a day for a week," Will Kingery, a co-owner of Willow's Bistro, King's Crab Shack, and Silo Bistro and Bar told the Winston-Salem Journal.

Rothman's family has been extremely touched by the community effort. People can write to Rothman, care of the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg, Rehabilitation and Nursing, 4000 Lingleston Road, Harrisburg, Pa., 17112.