Local brewery holds food drive tournament, filling people's cups in the community with more than just beer

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A local brewery is filling people's cups with more than just beer. The idea to hold a March Madness-type tournament to raise food donations for the elderly in Pinellas County who need it most started over a cold one. But the support grew, as the competition grew.

Step into Beerbusters Movie Bar and Bottle Shop and try not to feel nostalgic.

WATCH full report by Heather Leigh

”Just a chill place to hang out, like you're hanging out in my basement, but there are no basements," said Billy Dieli, the operator and owner of Beerbusters Movie Bar and Bottle Shop.

80s and 90s kids, you just have to see this! It's a fun play on Blockbuster with movies on display for rent at a dollar each. They also have records, action figures, comics, and personalized wrestling belts for their regular customers.

“The idea is you can come get some beers to go, come rent some movies, hang out if you want because there's a few beers on tap," he said.

Dieli is definitely a collector at heart, so when one of his regulars came in, an idea to collect something for the community brewed over a cold beer.

“Billy kind of mentioned like, hey, I would like to do a food drive," said MacKenzie Lair, a social worker for Empath Suncoast Pace. "He knows that I work with the elderly, and I said, 'Wow, that'd be great.' Another customer was there and said, 'You know, why don't we do donations for votes for the bracket?'"

A March Madness tournament, if you will, with brackets—they chose favorite chain restaurants.

“So what are some of the top contenders?" I asked. "We have Chili’s. I can see that, Chili’s is a good one. PDQ, Jersey Mikes.”

Over a six-week span, the brackets grew tighter.

“It was Olive Garden versus Texas Roadhouse in the finals," Dieli said.

"Who won?" I asked.

“Texas Roadhouse," Dieli replied.

But not without a valiant battle. In fact, Dieli said most of the donations came from the Olive Garden alliance.

WFTS

“I'm really overwhelmed! To be honest, when we started this, going back to the beginning of the story, in my mind, I pictured people bringing a can or two, and then I would take a little bag. I did not think it was going to be an overwhelming amount," said Lair. "I just figured, now and again, somebody would throw in a can from their house they weren't going to eat. But people went out to the store and bought things in bulk, and just, I didn't expect it.”

Lair sees the need every day: the elderly who can’t grocery shop on their own or who don’t have a car. Some folks are low on money and can’t afford food.

“Do you feel like the elderly or older folks sometimes don't speak up when they need help?” I asked.

"Yeah, there's a lot of pride—sorry, you're getting me with that one," Lair said, as her voice choked up. "I have one client in particular that I know wanted to just sell some of her belongings because she didn't want to ask her family or ask anyone for assistance.”

Dieli is used to filling someone else’s cup, but to him, it’s fulfilling to see his regulars excited, too.

“They all started coming up with a tournament of different animals that are famous, and we could do like Scooby Doo versus Lassie in a tournament, and then we'll donate to like an animal shelter," he said, because so many organizations are in need of help right now.

“I mean, this could last a while," I said to Lair, as we looked at all the donations.

"This is not even the half of it, like I mentioned, so it's going to last a very long time, and we're very grateful at Pace for this support," she said.

To learn more about Suncoast Pace and the help offered, click here.