Rhinelander community supports Dinky Diner with “Not So Dinky” fundraiser

RHINELANDER, Wis. (WSAW) - In a month full of darkness after last month’s fire, Sunday afternoon provided a shining light for the Dinky Diner. All thanks to a community having their back, raising money to get the diner back on it’s feet.

“It’s way bigger than one person right now, it really is,” says Andy Adee, Event Organizer.

For Dinky Diner owners Terri Bowman and Rick Covin, Sunday’s fundraiser for their fallen restaurant brought a sense of familiarity.

“We always like to spend Sunday’s together in the past, it’s awful nice to see a lot of my Sunday customers here again today,” says Terri Bowman, Dinky Diner Co-Owner. “Just being with everybody, hugs, love, lots of all of it.”

From live music to over 100 raffled items, Stella Town Hall was packed to the brim full customers for one of it’s town’s staples. The support means everything for Covin and Bowman.

“I’m just over the moon, it’s a feeling like no other,” says Bowman. “We’ve hit an all-time low and our high is getting up there right now.”

“With this type of support, I just can’t see us failing to rebuild and start at the Dinky Diner again,” says Rick Covin, Dinky Diner Co-Owner.

It’s support that goes both ways.

“If people were gonna turn out, they were gonna turn out for them,” says Krissy Bowman, Event Organizer. “They’ve always been really generous with the community, every kind of charity, event, anything. They’re the first people to jump on board, donating, cooking food, doing anything they can for the community.”

Even on a cold, snowy day in late April, the turnout is an embodiment of the Rhinelander community.

“It makes you realize what a wonderful place that we have here,” says Covin. “That is not everywhere in the world like this. There’s no way we can thank everybody, we want them to all know that we appreciate everyone from the bottom of our hearts.”

“Thank you to everybody, thank you to our community, our family, our friends, our customers, people we don’t even know,” says Terri Bowman. “But thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Bowman and Covin say they do plan to rebuild at their same location. To support the restaurant’s recovery, click here.

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