DAWSAWN GRAY, OWNER OF HAZELWOOD CAFE. | PHOTO BY BROOKE KEANE

For 2024’s Barrel & Flow Fest, Hazelwood Cafe owner Dasawn Gray partnered with Abstract Realm Brewing Co. to create a vanilla latte coffee stout called “We’re All Somebody.”

The Hazelwood community’s belief in that adage is being put into action as Gray battles medical issues with a hospitalization that forced the temporary closure of his Second Avenue business. He hosts free educational events and pop-ups, displays and sells local goods and artwork. He was organizing a holiday toy drive when he had to enter the hospital for an extended stay.

PHOTO BY BROOKE KEANE

On Saturday, Feb. 1 from 6 to 9 p.m., a fundraiser will be held at Hazelwood Brew House, an historical, four-story building on nearby Lytle Street where both Abstract Realm and New France Brewing Co. are based. (The facility is accepting applications to fill a third brewery space now that Bonafide Beer Co. has bowed out of the location.)

A dollar from every beverage sold will be donated to Gray, a Hazelwood native who opened the cafe in 2022 with the slogan, “Contributing to the community one cup of coffee at a time.”

In partnership with Offroute Art, a local nonprofit that supports young makers, art will be raffled off at the fundraiser as well. Guests can also bid on donations from area businesses including Hazel Grove Brewing and Commonplace Coffee and warm up with food from Comfort & Spice, one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants.

Owner and Chef Toby Vann, whose portable eatery is now a permanent fixture at the Brew House, will donate a portion of his proceeds to Gray.

For those unable to attend the event, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help him cover medical bills and lost income.

So far, nearly $5,000 has been raised.

Related: Soju Launches GoFundMe Campaign After Flood