An elderly woman living in poverty with no family wrote an emotional letter to restaurant staff after they gave her a free burger on Christmas Day.
The anonymous diner expressed her gratitude to the team at Black Sheep Burgers & Shakes in Springfield, Missouri, insisting without the gesture she faced “a boring Christmas” alone.
Mike Jalili, owner of the eatery, offered a free meal to anyone in need on December 25 and now wants to locate the woman who left the anonymous note.
The handwritten letter reads: “A very heartfelt thank you for the kindness of you all! It would have been a very boring Christmas for me as I have no family left. I never thought of this years ago, but being the youngest in my family, I have seen everyone leave this Earth before me.”
The woman explained she has been living off of her social security payments, forcing her to “downsize” to renting a room and sharing a house in Springfield.
The note adds: “I feel like I’m in college again. A dear friend heard about the offer of the free meal and invited me out for ‘Christmas lunch.’ Great idea since I was down to $1! The meal was wonderful as were the staff. Thank you again for making it a day to remember! Blessings.”
Mr Jalili was so moved by the letter he wants to identify the woman so he can invite her for a belated holiday celebration with him and his family. He shared his intention on Facebook, where regulars have praised his generosity as this was the second Christmas he has given free burgers to those in need.
“We are looking for this lady that sent this letter to downtown Blacksheep, if you know who she is please private message us. I’m wanting to invite her to our house for holidays, this is the reason I’m trying to locate her,” the business owner, who received the letter three days after the pensioner’s meal, added.
According to their website, Black Sheep has four locations throughout Missouri. TripAdvisor ranked their burgers as the best in entire state. Regulars have helped share Mr Jalili’s appeal on social media.
One person wrote: “This doesn’t surprise me that the owners are trying to include her as family and invite her to their gatherings! They invited my Dad many times when he said our family did not! And he went!”
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