Written by Ben Cox – Zephyr restaurant Diamond R Cafe is still operating this afternoon, even after staying open all night to serve first responders free of charge.

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Business owner Cody Rodgers said that he “had just got home from vacation, took a quick nap, then went to work” before being evacuated. After being allowed back into town “at around eight that night, we had a little conversation out front and decided to stay open and get these guys whatever they needed.”

From there, news of the generosity spread like, well, wildfire. “We had people calling us all night, offering to come help cook or serve. We had calls from all over.”

One Brownwood business made a very special call. Runaway Train owner Kim Bruton whose husband Brent is a Brownwood fire fighter, “thanked us for staying open and even offered to bring us food or whatever we needed.”

Rodgers says the community has been overwhelming in their response. “I hadn’t planned on charging them anything, but I had a guy come up and he said ‘we need to make sure those guys are fed’ and then he” left a donation with Rodgers to help cover the cost of food. Others stopped by to drop off “a hundred here and a hundred there. This is an awesome county.”

The two Diamond R cooks, Joe Burkett and Whitney Willett came in to help prepare food after getting back into town. According to Rodgers, Burkett “worked straight through till two this afternoon, he went home to take a nap and will be back later today. Whitney when home earlier and took a nap and she’s coming back to work until closing.”

Even Rodger’s daughter Haven came in to work through the night, leaving this afternoon only to return to school. 

The cafe may remain open through the night tonight, but that remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, Rodgers and his crew deserve a hearty thanks, as well as a day off!

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