By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Hank Ruxton and Matt Pittaluga brought an oversized, ceremonial check with them when they arrived Tuesday morning at Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant in Sea Isle City.
Mike Monichetti, owner of the restaurant, knew that Ruxton and Pittaluga were going to make a donation to the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism – the fundraising event that Monichetti and his wife, Jeannie, organize each year in Sea Isle. But he had no idea how much.
When they presented a check to him for $11,150, Monichetti seemed stunned.
“That’s incredible,” Monichetti said.
Ruxton, Pittaluga and their business partner, Josh Jaspan, are the owners of Hank Sauce, the Sea Isle-based hot sauce maker and restaurant of the same name.
Dubbing themselves the “Hank Sauce Crew,” they have been big supporters of the autism fundraiser, donating thousands of dollars each year. Hank Sauce normally sells limited-edition T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts inscribed with the company logo to raise money for autism awareness.
This year, the Hank Sauce guys sold T-shirts again, but they also added a twist to their fundraising efforts. They filled a cooler with $5,000 worth of Sea Isle-themed items and gift cards donated by local businesses and held a raffle for $10 per ticket. The gifts also included Philadelphia Eagles and Flyers tickets.
“People really love Sea Isle. They really love the brand,” Pittaluga said of the successful raffle.
Pittaluga and Ruxton presented the $11,150 check to Monichetti during a meeting of the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization held Tuesday at Mike’s Seafood. Also participating in the check presentation was Mike Givens, co-founder of the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism when it began 15 years ago.
Pittaluga and Ruxton said their financial support each year of the autism fundraiser simply is part of their desire to help out the local community.
“For us, we grew up here and are part of the community,” Ruxton said of himself, Pittaluga and Jaspan. “We want to use our brand to help our community. This is who were are and what we do. It feels good to support the local community.”
There are strong ties between Hank Sauce and Mike’s Seafood. Mike’s Seafood helped out Hank Sauce when it was still a fledgling company after the hot sauce brand was launched in 2011.
“Mike was one of the first customers to sell our sauce,” Pittaluga said of Monichetti.
Now that Hank Sauce has become an established hot sauce and restaurant brand, it is using its fundraising and marketing prowess to help support Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism.
“These guys have been with us every step of the way,” Monichetti said.
Monichetti and his wife, Jeannie, have four children, including two who have autism, Kara and Michael Jr. Having autistic children and knowing the challenges that parents with autistic children face on a daily basis served as their inspiration for starting the fundraiser.
This year’s autism fundraiser, held in February during Sea Isle’s Presidents Day weekend celebration, brought in $152,000 and attracted about 4,000 people, Monichetti said.
“It was a great day for families to get together,” he said.
The event benefits autism support groups, special services schools and families of special needs children.
After going virtual during the last two years due to the pandemic, the fundraiser returned as a live event on Feb. 18 on the oceanfront Promenade.
The response from the community, neighboring towns and the region was even better than Monichetti had expected.
“I never knew it would turn out like this,” Monichetti said. “It would never turn into something like this without the help of Sea Isle City.”
Monichetti pointed out that the event also includes the generous support of the local business community. For instance, First Bank of Sea Isle City picked up the $15,000 expense for the heated tents that served as the venue for the run-walk’s after-party and awards ceremony, he noted.
