Heffe beer garden, N.A. Poe to host pop-up benefit for young N.J. cannabis patient

The beer garden by Peter McAndrews' Heffe taco shop is barely a week old, and they're already getting things off to a charitable start.

On Friday, June 17 at 7 p.m., Marijuana activist N.A. Poe will host a pop-up benefit at Heffe's beer garden for Tuffy's Fight, which helps fund medical cannabis treatment for young Tatyana "Tuffy" Rivera. Poe will bartend, while owner McAndrews will create a special, as-yet-unannounced menu item for the evening.

"Come smoke a bone, eat some tacos, and have a beer for a great cause," writes Poe of the event.

Rivera, 9, is a New Jersey medical cannabis patient who suffers from Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that, for her, has resulted in upwards of 300 seizures per day at times. Tuffy's father, Ricardo Rivera, previously told Philly.com that medical cannabis helps reduce Tuffy's seizures "by about 90 percent."

As the pop-up's bartender, Poe will donate all the tips from his shift Friday evening to Tuffy and the Rivera family.

The Heffe beer garden opened late last week as part of a joint effort by Bottle Bar East's Brad Helder, John Fisher of Baby Blues BBQ, and Heffe's McAndrew. It is open 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, 2 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.