Wayne Yeh has lived in Collierville for 15 years and considers the bustling suburb on the eastern edge of Shelby County home. As a business owner, he knew he could do something to help the employees affected by the shooting in Kroger on Sept. 23.

“Obviously when tragedy happens you want to think of ways to help the community,” said Yeh, who owns the restaurant STIX. “I started making phone calls to other restaurants and got things together. I figured we could come together and do something.”

Warm paws and soft fur provide comfort after tragedy

In the end, he ended up with nine restaurants that will donate 10% of sales on Oct. 21 to a fund set up to help the employees.

On Sept. 23, Uk Thang, a third-party vendor who called on the store and who had lost his job that morning, shot 10 employees and five shoppers before killing himself at the Kroger on Byhalia Road in Collierville. One shopper, Olivia King, lost her life.

Kroger has pledged $1 million to The National Compassion Fund, which in partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis and Victims First, has created the Collierville Survivors Fund. Proceeds will benefit King’s family, those who were wounded, and others present in the store at the time of the shooting.

Collierville police detail outline of shooting events

The National Compassion Fund is a national organization. The money that will be collected at restaurants on Thursday will go to another fund, a local one set up at Patriot Bank.

The participating restaurants include STIX Collierville, Jim’s Place Grille, Tony’s Trophy Room All-American Grill, The Skybox Grill, Germantown Commissary, Collierville Commissary, Bella’s Pizzeria, Smallcakes Collierville and Lost Pizza Co.

“We have nine places,” Yeh said. “When I called Walker Taylor to ask him about the Collierville Commissary, he said ‘Hey, not only do I want to do Collierville but let’s throw Germantown in there too.

“Angela Sarwar at Tony’s said absolutely, Sam Taras at Jim’s Place said yes right away — everyone was on board.”

National group to aid victims after Collierville Kroger tragedy

You can help by dining at one of the listed restaurants on Thursday, by making a direct donation via Venmo or PayPal @colliervillestrong or writing a check to Collierville Kroger Victim Fund and dropping it with a teller or in the night deposit box at any Patriot Bank location. Donations to the National Compassion Fund can be made by clicking here. 

The store remains closed except for the gas station and the drive-thru at the pharmacy. When the store reopens, at a date unknown, it will be remodeled.