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GRILL'D Bendigo raised a whopping $23,015 towards the Kristy Thomson Appeal at the weekend.
Staff served 1449 burgers on Saturday as Bendigo residents jumped at the chance to show their support for Kristy Thomson.
Ms Thomson suffered serious spinal injuries when a tree fell on her in Rosalind Park on December 30 last year.
The branch fell on her four-year-old daughter Patiya May, who died.
Grill'd Bendigo owner Richard Nash said Saturday was one of the shop's busiest days ever.
"We thought we'd be busy, we hoped it would be crazy busy," he said.
"It was probably five times that.
"We were almost twice as busy as our busiest day ever."
All proceeds from Saturday - $23,015 - were donated to the Kristy Thomson Appeal.
"We thought in our wildest dreams that we might be able to raise maybe $13,000 or $14,000 and we raised $23,015," Mr Nash said.
"It just shows that Bendigo really wanted to show their support."
"It was just insane."
Mr Nash said the heat caused some problems with the shop's systems but customers were very understanding.
"Times blew out a bit at night but the customers were fantastic," he said.
"They realised the guys were going as hard as they could and that we were trying to raise money for the appeal.
"The staff were just incredible.
"We had people who were working 12 or 14 hour days and it's not 12 or 14 hour days where it's 20 degrees and air conditioned.
"It was probably 55 degrees behind that counter on Saturday and there was not one complaint."
Mr Nash said customers had traveled from Echuca and even Melbourne.
"We also had quite a few grandparents come in who had never been in to Grill'd before but they wanted to come in and support the Kristy Thomson Appeal," he said.
"It was just fantastic to see all the support."