Paula Grzelak-Schultz was recently having a few drinks with her husband at Original Joe’s Restaurant & Bar in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Afterward, she decided to call an Uber to avoid drinking and driving home.
The Canadian woman got quite the surprise when she came back to her car parked in the same spot the next morning—and now her story is spreading like wildfire across the Internet.
As she approached her windshield, she noticed a neatly typed out note that had the restaurant’s logo at the top. Though many would be fearful of coming back to a parking ticket or a nasty note from the restaurant about leaving the vehicle overnight, this letter was quite the opposite.
It read:
Dear Original Joe’s Sherwood Park Guest,
Just wanted to thank you for leaving your car parked overnight. I’m not sure if you had consumed alcohol at our restaurant or not, but we wanted to thank you for not drinking and driving. Enclosed is voucher good for 1lb of our delicious chicken wings. Please accept this as a thank you for being responsible. Life is valuable, have a great weekend.
It was signed by Managing Partner Jay McLean, who says he’s been leaving letters like this on cars parked overnight for about a year now. He heard about another establishment doing the same thing, and he thought it was a wonderful way to promote safety with a touch of kindness.
Jay wasn’t looking for attention for the act, but since Paula posted his good deed on Facebook, the story has been a viral sensation. Though some people are accusing the manager of having ill intentions, Paula refuses to let such a heartwarming act be twisted into something negative.
The stunned customer later wrote this statement on Facebook:
So I can’t believe what has been happening. This story has taken on a life of its own! It’s sad that there are haters out there, trying to taint such a great feel good story with their cynicism. However, majority of the response has been positive. Jay is a great guy, truly only doing what he feels is right. I can’t believe that some people actually are accusing him of taking advantage of the situation. He’s been doing it for over a year, with no expectations. Just being a good guy. Check out the numbers at the bottom of the picture!!! WOW!
Paula says she’ll be a long-time customer of Original Joe’s for more reasons than one.
“Not just because of the voucher, but because of how well this guy treats his patrons,” she wrote.
Thank God for sweet guys like Jay for being “parking ticket angels” in disguise who give instead of take.😇 SHARE this story if you’d love to see more businesses love their customers like Original Joe’s. We sure would! ❤️
