The owners of Heroes Foods & Spirits at the corner of M-43 and Grove Street in Delton created a GoFundMe fundraiser Sunday after being hit with gas bills totaling almost $40,000.

"We opened in January 2022 with very minimal start up cash," Shannon Ertner wrote on the fundraiser she created. "In February, our Consumer's Energy gas bill was $7401. We contacted Consumers immediately and had them check their 'smart meters,' They came out again to check for any gas leaks. They found nothing wrong. In March, our gas bill jumped to $11,993. We were talking with a customer, who just happened to be a furnace guy, and when he looked at the furnace, he noticed the heat exchanger had malfunctioned and was pouring out natural gas; we had no choice but to replace the furnace at the cost of $14,500."

Heroes Foods & Spirits is known as a family-owned restaurant that honors veterans. Local families are invited to post pictures of their service members. Since launching their GoFundMe, the Delton establishment has raise just over 10% of the $40,000 goal.

"This is something no one could have predicted, so we are asking/begging our family and friends to help us in any way they can," Ertner shared. "Any funds raised that exceed our goal will be donated back to Barry County Veterans."

To view the GoFundMe, please visit: https://gf.me/v/c/c54s/save-heroes-food-spirits