An emergency news photograph by Tiffany Haas showing the Tampa Fire Department works on a fire at Rene's Mexican Kitchen in Tampa, Florida on Sept. 30, 2026. Captured in a daylight shot from street level, smoke rises above the pink-and-teal wooden exterior of Rene's Mexican Kitchen as a high-pressure water stream sprays onto the roof. A red fire truck rescue vehicle, a ladder truck with a firefighter positioned high on the aerial platform, and prominent street signage including a red octagon "STOP" sign and a black "ONE WAY" arrow sign stand in the foreground.
Tampa Fire Department works on a fire at Rene’s Mexican Kitchen in Tampa, Florida on Sept. 30, 2026. Credit: Tiffany Haas

Last month, popular V.M. taco spot Rene’s Mexican Kitchen was heavily damaged in a fire due to issues with a circuit breaker, and since then the community has been rallying to help owner Rene Valenzuela get back to business. 

On Friday, Nov. 6 Spaddy’s Coffee Co. in Seminole Heights will host a massive fundraiser for Rene’s, with free food and drinks from a roster of beloved local businesses, including sliders from Burger Spot, Italian sausages from Boozy Pig, donuts from Supernatural, brews from Magnanimous Brewing and more. 

Here’s the full menu for the evening: 

Mise en Place: New American Food   

Station House BBQ: BBQ   

Super Natural: Famous Donuts   

Boozy Pig: Italian Sausages   

Happy Fish: Peruvian Food   

Burger Spot: Burger Sliders   

Retro House: Chinese Food   

Asados Al Carbon: Colombian Food   

Gaston Catering: American Food   

Niaddi: Flan & Cuban Flan   

Chef Stuart Morton: American Food   

Street Light Tacos: Mexican Food   

Rene’s Mexican Kitchen: Mexican Food   

Saucin Wings: Wings   

Spaddy’s Coffee: Coffee Drinks   

Grand Cathedral Cigar: Palomas   

Magnanimous Brewing: Beer  

Valenzuela currently has a GoFundMe, which is a little over halfway to its goal of $20,000.   The fundraiser is from 6 p.m-10 p.m. at 5206 N Florida Ave., and any donations to the tip jar are encouraged.

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.

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This article appears in Oct. 22 – 28, 2026.

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent...