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Tooele community comes together after death of beloved business owner

Posted at 9:42 PM, Mar 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-09 23:42:16-05

TOOELE, Utah -- Tooele residents rallied together on Friday to keep a business running after the sudden death of its beloved owner.

The people who knew Danny Marz said he was always the first one to jump in and help. They said he was known for promoting concerts, raising money for and supporting local charities, including the food bank, and his stories of working with rock stars and his smile.

The Marz family owns Pit Stop Car Wash and Coffee, and on Friday they announced the shop would close to allow time to mourn after Danny died on Thursday.

But, the community had other plans.

"I called some people and said, 'Who can come down and help me? And we'll open it up,'" said Jon Gossett.

Gossett is a friend of Danny Marz, and president of the Life's Worth Living Foundation.

He said Marz was a huge supporter of the organization, which focuses on suicide awareness, prevention and education.

Not wanting the family to have to shut Pit Stop down for a couple days, he said people showed up and offered to keep it open.

"We just didn't want them to lose out on the money they need to take care of family," he said.

The volunteers learned as they went, from making drinks in the coffee shop, to running the car wash machines.

A barista from another coffee shop offered to run the espresso machines, Gossett said.

Tooele City Mayor Debbie Winn said she stopped by to order lunch, but saw they needed help. She has a food handler's permit, and so Winn got to work preparing meals and treats.

"We have a wonderful community here," she said, getting choked up. "People just jump in and help when they need to be helped."

A line of cars filled the parking lot all day, many times spilling out onto the street, as people came to pay their respects.

"Everybody knew him," said Tooele resident Whitney Warr. "He was involved with a lot of things in the county."

Lorenzo Schrubb said his father works at the business next door, and he'd often come by Pit Stop after dropping him off.

"The nice man who owned the place—he would always be super friendly," he said of Marz.

Whether they simply knew Danny as the friendly business owner, or for his selfless community service, many said Marz's smiling face was a huge part of Tooele.

"He was the first one to jump in and help with anything," Winn said.

And for someone who meant so much, they said it's all they could do to help his family and honor a man they're going to miss dearly.

"We all need to stand by them," Gossett said, adding, "And let them know that they're loved and that we're here."

Gossett said volunteers will run the coffee shop and car wash again on Saturday during normal business hours.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Marz family can do so in person at Pit Stop or through The Danny Marz Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo in Tooele.