Owen Block, like most of us, loves his food, but for Owen, who has autism, he has to know exactly what he’s eating every night.
Being autistic, he’s not much on surprises when it comes to his meal, according to his mother.
So when his dad decided to eat at Burmese restaurant Sun Cusines he asked his son to run in and get a menu to he could choose exactly what he wanted.
“We knew all day we were going to eat at Sun Restaurant. Owen likes to know exactly where he’s going to eat every night,” explained Owen’s mother Sandra Block.
His dad waited patiently in his car for his son to return, but the minutes ticked by and Owen’s dad couldn’t understand what was taking so long.
Then he walked into the restaurant and couldn’t believe what the staff had done for Owen.
Owen was in the car with his dad when they saw an opportunity to help make the takeout experience a better one for Owen.
They wanted to grab a menu, so that Owen could look it over before they placed their takeout order at Sun Cuisines Restaurant in Williamsville, New York.
“So he said to him, ‘Owen just go and get the takeout menu and come right back,’ and they practiced it in the car.
‘You’re going to ask — what are you going to ask?’ ‘Take out menu,’ ‘okay good,’” Sandra furthered.
Yet, nothing went as planned when the boy entered the eatery.
Owen did ask for a take out menu, but that’s not all he asked for.
Owen approach the counter, but was quickly distracted by the good smell of the food.
“After that he said I’m hungry and when I look at his face, from my heart I said, ‘Oh, he’s a very special boy to me.’ I said, ‘What do you want to eat honey?’ I asked him, and he said, ‘I want to eat beef,’” Aye Thein recalled, Sun Restaurant Partner and Manager, according to News 4.
Owen had got clear instructions from his dad, he had to just go in and grab a menu while he waited in the car.
But Owen could not resist the delicious smells of food in the restaurant, so instead of just grabbing a menu, he had to stay and enjoy the aromas.
Dad waited and waited in the car. But at last he realized that he had to go in and see what had happened to his son.
Curious what was taking Owen so long, his dad entered the restaurant and he simply couldn’t believe the sight unfolding in front of him.
There was Owen sitting at a table by himself enjoying a delicious beef curry.
Aye Thein’s reaction to the boy’s admission that he was hungry was something this family had never seen or expected.
Mom Sandra quickly took to the business’s Facebook page to write about the whole event.
She gave the background story and Sandra said her husband went in to find out what’s going on, and he was so blown away, he took a picture
“Apparently, he told the hostess ‘I’m hungry.’ So she sat him down and asked what he wanted to eat, and he answered: ‘beef.’ She told her cooks, ‘hurry, this boy is very hungry,’ and made him a beef curry with rice. She said that he was so sweet she was planning on letting him eat for free,” writes Owen’s mom Sandra on Facebook.
The Williamsville, New York, restaurant staff knew a hungry customer when they saw one and couldn’t wait to cook Owen a meal so he could leave their popular restaurant completely satisfied.
His mom said how grateful she was for the staff’s kindness adding: “If you end up there, thank them again, from me. For their kindness, and for treating my son like family.”
Apparently, at Sun Restaurant, the motto is: “Ask and you shall receive!”
Her post has attracted 19,000 reactions from people who just love Owen and the Sun Restaurant’s small act of kindness that meant so much to one family.
“That is just so uncommonly kind, like how often, can you imagine, I’m going to cry thinking about it,” said an emotional Sandra.
What makes this even better? Manager Aye had no idea Owen has autism.
So, she wasn’t treating him special because of a disability. Instead, she says she was just practicing “Mettā,” which is part of Buddhism and her Burmese culture.
“Mettā means loving and kindness to everybody,” she explained.
Wonderful story, this really touched my heart. These people are great and I hope their business flourishes.
You don’t have to be a Buddhist or part of the Burmese culture to practice the loving and kindness Aye Thein and Sun Cuisines Restaurant displayed that day.
We all have the opportunity to show such compassion every day — we just have to make the choice to do it.
Please share this heartwarming story on Facebook if you agree.
