On a day when Toronto was hit by a historic snowstorm that caused chaos on the roads, one man who dared to walk the brutal elements to visit a local restaurant was disappointed on his knees when he realized it was closed.
The owner of Nicey’s Eatery in Scarborough, east of Toronto, told Global News she decided to check out her security camera footage after seeing footprints in the snow.
The video showed a mysterious man wading through fresh, deep snow to the restaurant.
When he came a few meters from the front door, he seemed to notice that the restaurant was closed, raised his hand to his head and sank to his knees.
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A few seconds later he slowly came up again, threw up his hands in an inflamed manner, brushed off his trousers and hung diagonally back with his head hanging, almost losing his balance in the thick snow.
The 37-second video was posted on the Caribbean restaurant’s Instagram account, @ niceys.eetplekand has since gone viral.
The caption reads: “To our loyal customer, we do not know who you are, but we will look out for you. We are terribly sorry the restaurant was closed. We feel your disappointment and hope to see you soon. Whatever you had in mind to buy today, that meal is up to us. ”
Valerie Lai, who owns Nicey’s Eatery, made the difficult decision to close her restaurant Monday to keep her and her staff safe and off the roads.
She says she has watched the video countless times, and is still in disbelief.
“What motivated you to come?” wonders Valerie Lai, owner of Nicey’s Eatery. “When I find this person, when he does come to our store, that’s my first question.”
“I just really want to know what is that meal that motivated you to come,” says Lai, who promises the man will receive that meal for free with his next visit.
“The meal, the drink, the starter, the dessert, rum cake or even a beer, if he drinks. Just make sure he gets his meal. And I think maybe he wanted to come because he wanted an island experience to take something home to feel like he had escaped the cold. But of course we disappointed him and I’m really sorry it happened. “
Lai also says she also wants to express to the dedicated customer how much his support means during a time that has been extremely difficult for small businesses in Ontario.
“I’m very grateful,” Lai said as he fought back tears. “It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to know I have such a strong community that keeps us alive.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Reference-globalnews.ca