On a day Toronto was hit with an historic blizzard that caused chaos on the roads, one man who braved the brutal elements on foot to visit a local restaurant was brought to his knees in disappointment when he realized it was closed.
The owner of Nicey’s Eatery in Scarborough, east of Toronto, told Global News she decided to check her security camera footage after she saw footprints in the snow.
The video showed a mystery man wading through fresh, thigh-deep snow towards the restaurant.
When he gets within several feet of the front door, he appears to notice the restaurant was closed, raises his hand up to his head and drops to his knees.
A few seconds later, he slowly gets back up, throws up his hands in an exasperated manner, brushes off his pants and skulks back with his head hung, almost losing his balance in the thick snow.
The 37-second video was posted to the Caribbean restaurant’s Instagram account, @niceys.eatery, and has since gone viral.
The caption reads, “To our loyal customer, we don’t know who you are, but we will be looking out for you. We are terribly sorry the restaurant was closed. We feel your disappointment and hope to see you soon. What ever you had on your mind to purchase today, that meal is on us.”
Valerie Lai, who owns Nicey’s Eatery, had 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 Nicey’s Eatery. “When I find this person, when he does come to our store, that is my first question.”
“I just really want to know what is that meal that motivated you to come,” said Lai, who promises the man will receive that meal free of charge on his next visit.
“The meal, the drink, the appetizer, the dessert, rum cake or even a beer, if he drinks. Just make sure that 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 escaped the cold. But obviously we disappointed him and I’m really sorry that happened.”
Lai also says she also wants to express to the devoted customer how much his support means during a time that has been extremely difficult for small businesses in Ontario.
“I’m very thankful,” Lai said, fighting back tears. “It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to know that I have such a strong community keeping us alive.”