Staff and customers support owners of bar after dual cancer diagnosis
By Allie Kaiser
Click here for updates on this story
FORT MYERS, Florida (WFTX) — On weekdays at Sheas West, you can find some of the bar’s regulars, like Kimmie Asher.
“It’s like family,” she said.
Asher says the bar owners, Heather and Obie Herrera, have supported her in the past.
“They helped when I lost my job after 19 years,” Asher said.
So, when the owners, a married couple were recently diagnosed with cancer, returning the favor was something she and the rest of the community wanted to do.
The Herreras were both diagnosed with cancer in the same week last month.
“It was shocking, but we’ve kept a positive attitude,” Obie said.
That positivity has rubbed off on their customers and staff.
“We just wanted to help them back in return,” said Lisa Kraft, manager of Shea’s West Pub and Bar.
The community formed in this bar started raising money for the Herrera’s to help pay for the surgeries and radiation.
“We’ve always tried to help other people and to be on the other end of it is a little overwhelming,” Obie said.
But they’re going through it together and with the people in their bar.
The staff started a GoFundMe and a special event will be held at the bar on Halloween to raise money for the couple.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WFTX verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.