Plymouth (and New Bedford) Comes Together for Family of Brent Berkeley

PLYMOUTH (WBSM) — One week after an unspeakable tragedy, the Plymouth community and beyond is coming together to support the family of Brent Berkeley, the 41-year-old shot and killed in a downtown parking lot last Friday.

Today, local restaurants and bars in Plymouth – and beyond – will be donating all or a portion of the proceeds to Berkeley’s fiancée Jessie Jenks and their two young children, Liam and Harper.

“They were together half their lives,” said Jordan Chabot, owner of the Speedwell Tavern in downtown Plymouth, where Jessie has worked as a bartender for the past nine years.

A Deep Connection to the Plymouth Community

“Jessie was sort of a chance hire. I met her at a beer festival down in Plymouth, and hired her after a few beers. It was kind of funny,” Chabot said. “We did the whole thing formally the next day, interviewed her and she was a perfect fit, and she’s been with us ever since.”

He said through that connection, he and the rest of the staff at the Speedwell got to know Berkeley and watch as their young family grew over the years.

“Brent and Jessie are Plymouth people long before Speedwell, too,” Chabot said. “They brought their family with them when they joined us. Speedwell wouldn’t be what it is today without that chance hire at that beer festival.”

Because Jessie and Brent meant so much to Chabot and his staff, he knew he needed to do something to focus everyone’s grief into something that could make a difference. He decided to take all the proceeds from sales at the Speedwell today and donate them to the family.

“I felt like my team and I needed this,” he said. “Harness some of this energy and sort of anxiousness we’ve felt over the last week and do what we do best, and that’s serve the Plymouth community and ultimately support one of our family members in Jessie.”

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Restaurants in Plymouth (and New Bedford) Join in the Cause

However, there is just one small catch – the Speedwell Tavern can only fit so many people, and because Berkeley was so beloved in the community, there was no way they’d be able to accommodate everyone who would want to come out and show support. The restaurant already posted to Facebook that it won't be able to accommodate over-the-phone takeout orders today due to the expected volume.

Thankfully, other restaurants reached out to Chabot and said they wanted to take part and donate some or all of their profits for the day as well.

“Since I’ve come to Plymouth in 2013, we’ve dealt with our share of adversity here with different businesses, different people, different families, and Plymouth always steps up,” he said. “Everyone just wants to help so much. This is such a tragic event, everyone wants their impact felt and wants to right this wrong.”

New World Tavern, located across Main Street from Speedwell and with a capacity of nearly 200 people, is donating 20 percent of its sales today to Jessie and the family. So is Uva Wine Bar, also on Main Street.

The servers at the British Beer Company located next to the Speedwell Tavern are donating half their tips for the day to Jessie as well. The bar is located directly across the street from the municipal parking lot where Berkeley was killed.

“They experienced this heartache just as much as we did, because they witnessed this whole tragedy,” Chabot said.

In addition to the neighboring businesses in Plymouth helping with the cause today, Chabot said the place where he “cut his teeth” in the restaurant business also stepped up to help. Rose Alley Ale House in New Bedford, where Chabot worked as a manager before opening the Speedwell Tavern and later also opening Sixes & Sevens in New Bedford, is also where he learned the value of being part of the larger restaurant community.

“When I managed there in early 2010, I said, ‘Let’s go down to Pour Farm, let’s make friends. We’re both selling beer, it’s cool, people don’t go to the same place every night,’” Chabot said.

Rose Alley will also be raising money for Jessie and the children today.

“(Owner) Howie (Mallowes) reached out to me and told me yesterday they’re donating 20 percent of all sales,” Chabot said.

Other local businesses have also helped by donating to the GoFundMe that was created for Jessie and the family, which as of this writing had raised just about $130,000. That includes thousand-dollar donations from The Gateway Tavern in Wareham and Plymouth businesses such as Second Wind Brewing Company and Surfside Smokehouse.

Chabot said those who can’t participate in today’s fundraising events can always go to the GoFundMe page to donate directly to Jessie.

Brent Berkeley Has Become a Symbol for Plymouth

Berkeley’s tragic death has also sparked his life to become a symbol of positivity in the Plymouth community.

Stickers are now being sold featuring his face and the phrase, “Be Kind, Be Like Brent.” They are $5 each and the money goes to his family. They can be purchased in person at Speedwell Tavern.

Also, Berkeley’s favorite band, hardcore legends Bane, are selling t-shirts on their website for $30 with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Jessie and the kids. The shirt features a photo of Berkeley with “Brent” in the traditional Bane font, along with the phrase “I’ll be right next to you,” which are lyrics from Bane’s “Swan Song.”

“I’m blown away,” Chabot said. “That hardcore rock scene was something I never got into, but I have a 45-50 minute commute from Dartmouth to Plymouth every day now, and I’ve been listening to Bane like crazy. They’re turning me into a hardcore kid in my 40s. It’s unbelievable.”

“They’re absolutely awesome,” he said.

Coming Together to Show Love and Support

While all this fundraising will certainly help Berkeley’s family from a financial standpoint, the outpouring of love will also show them that because of the Plymouth, restaurant and music communities to which Brent was connected, they’ll never find themselves alone.

Chabot said that with all of the headlines surrounding Berkeley’s murder, it’s been important to help Jessie without overwhelming her.

“You know, personally, I’ve kept my distance,” he said. “I’m trying to essentially form a shield, using the business as a platform.”

“We’re sort of the lightning rod here,” Chabot said. “We’ve got reporters reaching out, the overwhelming support of course, but there’s a lot of people that want to get to her, get her response on this, and I felt like my best way to help was to sort of bottleneck everything for her and handle it.”

Chabot said a few of the Speedwell employees are really close with Jessie and have been with her every day, helping with the kids, bringing her food and just checking in on her. He said he heard she even took the kids out trick-or-treating on Halloween.

“The last thing someone wants to hear when they’re going through this is telling them they’re so strong, they’re so strong,” Chabot said. “I’m not going to patronize her, but I will tell you what, I wish I was half as brave as Jessie is right now. She’s putting her emotions aside for the sake of her kids.”

However, it’s also likely that she is being inspired by the outpouring of love and support from those who knew Brent and those who never met him at all but are still moved to help in some way. Plymouth refers to itself as “America’s Hometown,” and that’s about more than just the Pilgrims.

“No one is sparing any generosity at all,” Chabot said.