A Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Tacoma, Washington played a small, but important, role in honoring a fallen U.S. soldier last week.
Brian Avey was at work on July 9 when a woman came in and ordered two beers. The server explained he could only serve her one beer at a time. That’s when she explained that they weren’t both for her. One was for her brother, who died in Iraq. She assured Avey the beer wouldn’t be consumed, but would merely sit there in honor of him.
Avey served the woman the two beers–a Blue Moon for her and a Corona for her fallen soldier brother. He went a step further, too.
When he presented the woman with the bill, he explained that the Corona was courtesy of Buffalo Wild Wings.
“Thank you,” the woman wrote on the receipt. “An act of kindness goes a long way. It means a lot to me. Have a great rest of your day.”
She signed her message, “Greatful [sic] Soldiers.”
Thank you Brian Avey for honoring soldiers. Amazing story by @K_Schallhorn http://t.co/CRvyjRdlsO via @theblaze pic.twitter.com/wsVNp1OVOL
— Legion (@legionlogistics) July 15, 2015
Avey’s boss at Buffalo Wild Wings completely supporting his decision to comp the Corona. Avey, however, was faced with another dilemma after the woman left the restaurant.
“I didn’t have the heart to dump the beer out and throw it away,” he wrote.
Brian Avey instead placed the opened Corona atop a cooler next to an American flag. His Buffalo Wild Wings boss insisted on one thing, however. He told Avey to make sure a fresh lime gets wedged into the bottle every day.
Kudos to Brian Avey for his foresight and sense of patriotism and to Buffalo Wild Wings for allowing their server to carry out this small, but very important honor.
Small gestures like these no doubt help soldiers understand they’re truly appreciated.