Fryth Garstang watched from a parking lot as crews battled a three-alarm blaze Sept. 28 at Lancaster Dispensing Co., where she has worked for 22 years. She stood with her bosses, co-owners Bradley DeForge and Judy Ross, and some of the restaurant’s 16 other staffers.

The next night, Ross hosted a dinner for Garstang and the rest of the staff. There, they learned the $400,000 of damage would take three to six months to repair.

DeForge and Ross provided staffers information on how to apply for unemployment while they wait for Lancaster Dispensing Co., known to frequent customers as Dipco, to reopen.

DeForge and Ross weren’t the only ones wanting to help.

Matt Johnson, a professor, former candidate for city council and Lancaster Dispensing Co. regular, has teamed up with local musician and graphic designer Adam Taylor to organize a benefit concert.

Tellus360 will host the benefit concert for Lancaster Dispensing Co. employees Saturday. Regular Lancaster Dispensing Co. performers will perform. There will be a “not-so-silent” auction, Foxduck T-shirts for sale and more.

“We want to make it so when Dipco opens back up again, it has the same staff and they can be supported throughout the whole thing,” Johnson says.

Lancaster Dispensing Co. employees will be present at the event. Some will be behind the bar earning tips, others at a donation station.

“The outpouring of support and love, I can’t even explain to you what it’s like,” Garstang says. “I mean, none of us have actually had a moment to be upset yet.”

Johnson, who regularly hosted trivia at Lancaster Dispensing Co., says the business gave him his first real bar experience.

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“It’s sort of the cosmic hub of Lancaster. … It’s like ‘Cheers,’ ” Johnson says. “You know everybody there.”

Garstang says when someone is hired at Lancaster Dispensing Co., they typically work there for a while. The newest staffer has been there three years, she says. The team also includes two refugees.

“It’s not some kind of big corporate staff thing,” Garstang says. “We’re very much a family.”

In the days after the fire, Garstang says she had to turn off her phone because of the barrage of calls and texts. When she went out for drinks the next week at the Horse Inn, she was greeted with love and support.

“I walked in, and there were just 20 people in line waiting to talk to me,” Garstang says.

Garstang, who booked live music for more than 10 years while it was a regular feature at Lancaster Dispensing Co., is excited for the music. Bobbi Carmitchell, The Vivien Leigh Documentary, Modern Day Pharoahs, Inca Campers, Corty Byron, Leo DiSanto and members of Slimfit will perform. All have been regular performers at Lancaster Dispensing Co.

“Musicians refer to Dipco as ‘the Incubator,’ ” Garstang says. “Everybody starts there, and then they get to the point where they’re so big they need to move into a bigger space, which is something we’ve always applauded.”

The lineup is completed by the Ogham Stones, a band Garstang says she always wanted to book but was unable to because of the size of Lancaster Dispensing Co.’s stage.

While the benefit concert has yet to happen, Garstang says she’s already filled with gratitude for Johnson, Taylor and everyone else involved in Saturday’s event.

“Somehow, they’re finding the time to do this, and they’re doing it for no other reason but that they love Dipco,” Garstang says.