NEWPORT BEACH : Fund-Raiser to Aid Bartender’s Family
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The Hard Rock Cafe will hold a fund-raiser Tuesday for the family of Antonio De Santiago, the bartender who was killed in the Aug. 1 explosion at El Torito Grill at Fashion Island.
Proceeds from barbecue will be contributed to a college trust fund for De Santiago’s two daughters, Eloisa, 14, and Mireya, 11.
“We are very grateful for the support we have gotten from the community,” said Lee Healy, spokeswoman for El Torito Restaurants, which has already contributed more than $10,000 to the family.
There was a similar fund-raiser Aug. 12 at Lucy’s Bayside Bar & Grill in Newport Beach that raised $1,000. El Torito has promised to match all public donations.
The 39-year-old bartender was killed while changing his clothes in a room next to a water heater that exploded, blowing out the walls and severing a gas line.
De Santiago had held down two bartender jobs, one in Newport Beach and the other in Santa Ana, to support his family. His wife and two daughters live in Fullerton.
The barbecue will run from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hard Rock Cafe, 451 Newport Center Drive.
El Torito Grill, closed since the explosion, may reopen by the end of September.
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