Stand with Kellie in Her Battle Against Cancer

Kellie Brooks is fighting for her life against breast cancer, and she needs our help.

If you've been to Primo, then you know our General Manager, Kellie . . . her sparkling personality, compassion, and professionalism are what keep us on track each night, as she oversees our staffing, reservations, events - and pretty much anything else that happens here in the Primo restaurant and on the farm.

We've been lucky to have Kellie on our team for the past 7 years. Formerly based in NYC, where she helped to manage the Union Square Cafe, Kellie visited Rockland, Maine, one summer and fell in love with the community, the coast, and the way of life here. With her trademark boldness, she took the leap and quickly made the Midcoast her new home . . . and we couldn't be more grateful that she did. In her time with us, she has helped to hone and level up the Primo standard of service. Guests and longtime Primo supporters ask for her by name, on the regular, to handle their reservations and events. She is so special and we love her, as we know you do too.

Kellie has been privately battling breast cancer this summer. Throughout the process of consultations with her doctors, aggressive chemotherapy and surgery, Kellie has continued to work as much as she can. On her good days, she travels to Primo to catch up on the happenings here in the kitchen, for as long as her stamina will allow. On her difficult days, she stays at home, providing direction as able through texts and e-mails, while she mends. Her commitment to the well-being of our restaurant, and our people, is extraordinary . . .

However, the reality is that the treatments required to fight this illness have left her largely unable to work, creating emotional and financial hardships during an already difficult time.

Despite these challenges, Kellie’s strength, kindness, and resilience remain at the core of who she is, and she meets each day with positivity and hope.

We would like to return the wellspring of compassion and care to Kellie that she has shown us - and we hope you will help.

It's an unfortunate truth that despite having robust health insurance, and working to save and plan as much as she could for this unplanned illness, Kellie is faced with extreme financial hardship. Remarkably, insurance will not cover significant portions of her cancer care, and she is left scrambling to find solutions.

The Primo Family is contributing all that we can to help get Kellie well again . . . we invite you to join us, and help make her holidays bright.

Please consider donating if possible - and if you are not able to donate, you can still help by sharing this fundraiser!

Thank you so much.