Gel’s Kitchen has developed a reputation for community outreach in the Warwick and West Warwick - and the community has been returning the favor after the restaurant’s West Shore Road location was burglarized on the evening of Friday, January 13.  Restaurant co-owner Mike Penta says the outpouring of support has helped to cover the restaurant’s losses - as well as something even more important.

“The thief also took an envelope with a bit over $100 in donations and bracelet sales for the Matthew Dennison Foundation,” he said.  The foundation, named after the late West Warwick High School hockey player, offers a scholarship for college-bound athletes in Rhode Island.  “People started coming in the day after the news of this got out, and we’ve had so many contributions that now we’ve actually raised about $4,000 for the charities we support in just a few days.”

It’s a lucky ending to a story that began with a particularly unlucky Friday the 13th - as well an unhappy birthday for restaurant co-owner Angelica Penta.

“My wife and I had been out all day to celebrate her birthday, and we were exhausted when we got home,” he said.  “She almost always checks the security camera before she goes to bed, but that night she was just too tired.  Based on the timestamp, we might have actually seen the incident if we had looked.”

The thief used a crowbar to force open the rear entrance of the eatery, destroying the locking mechanism in the process.  The door has since been replaced with a reinforced model.

“If you look at the big picture, we got lucky,” said Penta.  “This guy didn’t break the cash register to get it open, which would have been thousands more to replace.  He didn’t destroy any of the kitchen equipment or open the freezers, which could have cost a ton of money in food.  He only made off with about $300, and my wife and I always say that money is just paper.”

So far quite a bit of that “paper” has found its way back to the restaurant.

“So many people showed up today wanting to donate not only to Matt’s foundation, but all our foundations,” Angelica Penta said on social media.  “We told people we had already raised the money back, but they didn’t care and still just wanted to help.” 

The Matthew Dennison Charitable Foundation is one out of four local non-profits which supported by proceeds from a special section of the Gel’s menu.  Each breakfast on the list commemorates a local youth who passed away under tragic circumstances.

“The most recent charity we added was the Olivia Passaretti Scholarship Fund,” Penta says.  “Olivia used to visit both of our locations and always had her favorite order - chicken and waffles and a large chocolate milk.  So now that’s the ‘Olivia.’  Then there’s the ‘Maddie,’ for Maddie Potts, and the ‘Gianna’ for Gianna Cirella.  That one comes with purple pancakes, because purple was her favorite color.”

According to Penta, a considerable portion of the support has come from the local business community and fellow restauranteurs.

“I don’t see other restaurants as competition,” he said.  “We’re all on the same side.  We’ve gotten support from restaurants ranging from the Shannon View Inn to the Barefoot Buddha, all the way in the US Virgin Islands.  The owner was in Rhode Island for the weekend and happened to hear the story on the news, so he stopped at Gel’s on his way to the airport.  Someone else, who said they want to remain anonymous, donated $2,000 to be distributed between all four charities.  You can ask my wife - it’s almost impossible to make me cry.  But that moment got me choked up.”

Among the local business owners showing their support was architect Harvey Wagner, of Wagner Design.  “I was shocked when I heard the news, just as anyone would be,” he said, adding that he was a regular at the restaurant.  “They’re excellent supporters of the community, so we want to be there for them, too.”

Anyone wishing to contribute may donate (or order from the special menu) at either Gel’s location.  Please contact Warwick Police with any information about the break-in.

Col. Bradford Connor said Wednesday the incident is still under investigation and had no developments to report.