Jim Thorpe has become one of the biggest tourism hot spots in recent years with people from all over the East Coast traveling to the historic district to shop, raft and enjoy cuisine from eateries in town.

In the early morning hours of June 23, area fire departments were called to the Stone Row Pub and Eatery on Race Street for a fire. No one was injured but the building suffered smoke damage on the first and second floors and the restaurant was shut down for extensive repairs.Fire insurance covers the repair costs, but the owners and staff have been losing seasonal revenue since the fire.TheUnion Publick House on Jim Thorpe’s east side stepped up to help the staff members of Stone Row until the eatery can reopen.Stone Row bartenders Jakky Johnson and Traye Lovejoy served customers at UPH a few nights since the blaze with all tips and 20 percent of food sales collected for the Stone Row staff.“I really enjoyed working at UPH and it was awesome of them to do that for us,” Johnson said.Lovejoy expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to make a few dollars during her guest spot.“It’s great Kevin and Sara (Ruch, UPH owners) reached out to us. This is a big chunk of my income that’s missing. Not only do we miss our work routine but we had Open Mic night, which was a huge social gathering. And also the food, we are spoiled there,” she said.Senior UPH bartender Mark Donnelly said he was glad to help the staff during such a difficult time.“When I heard about it I immediately texted Kevin and said we had to do something. We’re more than happy to help,” he said. “It’s gotta be tough. You’re expecting money this time of year in this business when it’s so sporadic.”Ruch agreed with Donnelly andgot in touch with the staff directly.“We heard about it when it happened,” said Ruch. “I talked to Charlie (Sproule, Stone Row bar manager) about having bartenders come here to do something.”“It could’ve been any one of us,” said Sheila O’Neil, owner of The Gilded Cupid Bed and Breakfast. “We’re all in this together.”The fundraising efforts continued during the July Fourth weekend with local band Hats entertaining the crowd. The band donated all tips.“When we heard about the fire at Stone Row, one of the first things we did as a band was come together and try to figure out how we could help. They were really the place where we first started playing out together and refining our sound. They have always been gracious hosts and do a lot for local artists and musicians,” Josh Metz said. “It is our absolute pleasure to be able to help out in any way we can.”“I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay my bills or rent this month. As front of house staff, we look at money differently. We are used to having cash every day that we work. This was so sudden and unexpected,” Johnson said.“I’ve worked for dozens of restaurants and bars in different cities and I’ve never actually enjoyed coming to work until I started at Stone Row last year,” he said.“We are truly appreciative of all the community support we’ve been receiving. We’re already in the process of rebuilding and also concentrating on taking care of our staff so they have an income until we reopen,” Sproule said.The eatery is expected to reopen in August.