BLUE ASH, Ohio – A suburban Cincinnati restaurant has gone to the extreme to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer month.

  • The restaurant was painted entirely pink on Oct. 1
  • The Silver Spring House set a goal of $25,000 for the month
  • Customers can buy raffle tickets, purchase hats and t-shirts, or win a lease on a new SUV

The Silver Spring House normally has a yellowish exterior, but on October 1 it was transformed.

To pink.

All pink.

“We had a few months then to plan for this,” said restaurant co-owner Joe Kendall. “We went big or stay home.”

Standing out like a sore thumb at 8322 East Kemper Road, the restaurant has made it a goal to raise $25,000 through the month of October for breast cancer research.

The American Cancer Society and Pink Ribbon Girls are the primary benefactors.

“We're on target,” said co-owner Joe Smith. “We originally wanted to raise about $25,000 but we think we're going to raise closer to 45-to-50 thousand.”

Sherwin Williams donated the paint.

Inside, the restaurant remains largely the same – except for pink napkins and pink coleslaw, among other things.

The Silver Spring House is raising money a few different ways.

T-shirts, hats, and other “pink” items are for sale on a daily basis.

There is also a split-the-pot, a limited number of raffle tickets to win a lease on an SUV, and gift baskets.

It started with a few gift baskets, but people kept dropping them off. Now, more than 30 line several tables at the entrance to the restaurant. Customers can buy a $1 ticket and drop it in the jar for the basket they'd like to win.

A local company donated a furnace to be raffled off later this month.

Customers love the extreme effort to raise awareness.

“I love their heart,” said longtime customer Chuck Peckham. “Just to promote breast cancer awareness and all that they're doing. It's extraordinary how much they've changed the environment just to make that statement.”

“Really happy that we can support them,” said customer Chris Ferraro. “We love coming here for lunch and dinner, cocktails, happy hour. It's a really nice thing that they're doing here.”

Kendall and Smith both said it's been a large undertaking for the entire month, but it's all worth it.

Typically, the restaurant holds a big Veterans Day event with a flag raising. This October pink-out is by far their biggest venture to raise money for a singular cause.

Smith said he's not sure they'll do it every year, however.

“That'd be a tall order. So, we're not sure. We might do this like every five years, maybe just trim it. We're not sure,” he said.

Kendall said they'll always be doing something.

And November 1 they will be —painting the restaurant back to its original color.