A GoFundMe campaign for Jake Pelagalli, general manager at The Reef in Newport, has raised more than $78,000 toward a $90,000 goal, with Heritage Restaurant Group matching the next $30,000 in donations dollar for dollar.
Pelagalli was 31 and had recently been promoted when he developed sudden partial blindness and confusion after a shift in June 2025, according to his sister, Kelsey Pelagalli, who organized the fundraiser. Severe head pain, convulsions and vomiting followed. He was taken to Newport Hospital, then to Rhode Island Hospital, where imaging found a mass in the right hemisphere of his brain.
After a week of tests and a brain biopsy, genetic testing confirmed a grade 4 glioblastoma with a mutation his sister described as inoperable and unlikely to respond to chemotherapy or radiation. He was given a prognosis of about two years.
“Have you ever had a nightmare so heartbreaking and vivid that when you wake up all you can do is take a deep breath and thank god it’s over?” Jake Pelagalli said, according to his sister’s account of the call. “It’s kind of like that, but you never wake up.”
That was 15 months ago. His tumors have shown unusually little growth during treatment, according to the fundraiser, though the daily medication that has slowed them causes migraines, seizures, vision trouble and joint pain, and he can no longer drive or work.
His doctors expect the current treatment will eventually stop working and have recommended combining it with the experimental use of an anti-parasitic medication, according to the fundraiser. His insurance has denied coverage, and the family’s initial estimate puts the out-of-pocket cost above $50,000 a month. The campaign is also raising money for stem cell treatments aimed at easing side effects.
Glioblastoma is diagnosed in a little more than 12,000 people in the United States each year, and the median age at diagnosis is 65, according to the fundraiser.
Heritage Restaurant Group committed to the $30,000 match on Oct. 9, when the campaign had raised roughly $60,000, according to an update Kelsey Pelagalli posted. The company asked its mailing list to contribute Tuesday.
“We know you hear from us primarily about our restaurants, special events, and the things happening in our community,” Nicholas Schorsch Jr., a founding partner, wrote. “Today, we wanted to use that connection for something that matters deeply to our team.”
Founded in Newport in 2021, Heritage Restaurant Group operates 26 restaurants and two inns across New England and beyond, including La Forge Casino Restaurant, Brick Alley Pub & Restaurant, Red Parrot, Caleb & Broad, Scales & Shells and Jo’s American Bistro in Newport, Flo’s Clam Shack, Olneyville New York System and, since May, Mews Tavern in Wakefield, as What’sUpNewp previously reported.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 538 people had donated.
Donations can be made at the campaign’s GoFundMe page.
