MIDDLEBURG – The newest diner in Middleburg is already digging its feet into the local community.

Grumpy’s Restaurant recently held a soft opening. Restaurants typically hold soft opens to give eagle-eyed customers a first look at the restaurant and to give the cooks and the menu a chance to settle in before the big grand opening.

Grumpy’s soft opening was certainly was all of that, but the two-day opening was more about supporting Clay County’s YMCA locations more than anything else.

“It was a good way for us to partner with a great organization while also learning what our very first customers think of our menu and our service,” Grumpy’s owner Daniel Deleon said. “One hundred percent of the proceeds from those two days went to Florida’s First Coast YMCA.”

Deleon is on the YMCA’s board of directors and the local Dye-Clay and Barco-Newton YMCA locations have been staples in his life for as long as he can remember. It’s where he spent his afternoons playing basketball, finishing up homework and making new friends. Even as an adult today, the YMCA is still a regular part of his life as he coaches youth sports, including his children who are on YMCA sports teams.

It was easy for Grumpy’s to reach out to YMCA about a donation.

Florida’s First Coast YMCA corporate engagement director Lindsay Murphey said Deleon was serving on the YMCA’s advisory board when he brought forth the opportunity for the YMCA to be his charity partner for the Middleburg Grumpy’s soft opening.

“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Grumpy’s, a restaurant we all love,” Murphey said. “It was a wonderful event too because people were able to get a meal and a drink for $10 and learn what the Y does and the impact it has on the local community. We couldn’t have asked for a better event.”

Grumpy’s donated $5,805 to the YMCA, which translates to hundreds of customers. Deleon said $10 was the asking price for a meal and drink during the soft opening and customers were informed their $10 would be going to the YMCA as a donation. He and Murphey said that when people learned that, they donated even more money, some donating as much as $100.

Murphey said the money is going to youth in Clay County for programs that promote physical activity like youth sports. Deleon said he chose the YMCA to donate the proceeds to because that’s what he’s most tapped into with the organization.

“You can sponsor different programs so we focused on just general sports,” Deleon said. “The money can help children less fortunate than others and it will be used to directly impact these children’s lives.”

Deleon said since the soft opening weekend, things at the new Grumpy’s location have been going great. He said the community has really welcomed the restaurant into Middleburg with open arms and that everyone is excited about the future.

“It means so much to the Y, especially in Clay County, that Grumpy’s was able to do that,” Murphey said. “With everything going on in the world, it was such a positive event and a great day to celebrate community and reinvest in it. The Y loves when community partners can come together to better and strengthen our community and this event brought a smile to everyone’s face.”