TACOMA, Washington -- A photo of a beer bottle, taken by a Buffalo Wild Wings bartender, went viral after people learned about the message behind the bottle. Brian Avey, the bartender at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Tacoma, Washington, told Q13 it started when a woman walked into the bar and ordered two beers.
"I said we can only do one due to liquor laws and stuff, and she explained to me that the Corona was for her brother who had fallen in Iraq," Avery said. "So she sat here with the Corona, had her lunch with the Corona sitting there."
Brian Avey, the bartender at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Tacoma, Washington
When she was ready to leave, Avey told her the Corona in honor of her brother was on the house.
He later found that the mystery woman left behind this note on the receipt: “Thank you. An act of kindness goes a long way. It means a lot to me.” And she signed it, “Grateful soldiers.”
"I just couldn’t dump out a fallen soldier’s beer. If someone else could do it, fine. But I wasn’t going to be the one," Avey said. "If he can give his life for our country, we can give that beer a permanent place at the Buffalo."
With his manager’s permission, he placed the Corona next to an American flag on display at the bar.
The manager “said ‘it’s fine, leave it there. Just put a fresh lime in it every morning.'”
Avey took a photo of the beer and the woman’s note and posted it on Facebook.
“Couple hours into the night, it was at a hundred thousand likes. I was like whoa, crazy!” Avey said.
And phone calls began coming into the restaurant to say thank you.
“That beer is staying there, we’re not getting rid of that beer,” Avey said. “That beer is for a fallen soldier who protected our country.”
Speaking of the mystery woman, the bartender added, “Think about someone else’s pain, might be a little more than what you’re dealing with at the time. And I don’t even know how much pain she was in. It just felt like the right thing to do.”
People at the restaurant are hoping the woman will come forward so they can thank her for her brother’s service.
