08/16/2019
Reflecting on this whole restaurant experience...I’ve seen you put your heart and soul and life into this place, from the hundreds of hours of construction and planning to the painstaking perfection of recipes and cooking methods. I’ve seen your face light up when customers were in awe of your art- your skillfully created and love filled food as you passed out hundreds of side samples to all our newbies ❤️. I’ve watched you write paper after paper in between customers, even watched you make a customers order as I viewed a live stream of your induction into a national honor society for your straight A average (you didn’t want to make the customer wait so you skipped seeing It❤️) ... I remember how during the government shutdown you wanted to help, you called a local news station and tracked down a family that was affected by the absence of a paycheck at that time...you told them to come in and have a meal on the house, and to come back anytime they wanted during this hard time. No cameras, no media, just reaching out to fellow humans in some down time, it was a special and beautiful moment to watch you with them...One day I saw a gentleman walking by who looked like he was down on his luck, I invited him in to have a nice hot meal, you were so quick to jump up and make him a plate. He ate and talked with us and said he was just thinking he didn’t know where he was gonna get his next meal and then we called him in (my heart still breaks over that moment) he said he couldn’t repay us, and we let him know that was not needed at all, but he asked if he could pray with us. And there we were at the desk as we held hands and he lead us in prayer 🙏, and asked for blessings for us and the restaurant, it was such a heartfelt moment. I watched in admiration as week after week you worked so hard and learned from the ground
up how to be a business owner, and turn out the some of the highest quality BBQ around! We learned how to make specials on the spot *The Omar & Amy (it’s funny, some people still think
Those are our names 😊), how to appreciate the comradery of small business owners, & the importance of not making people feel rushed & although often exhausted by 3:50 am wake ups, fresh food cooked daily is always superior...There was so much sacrifice, stress levels peaked, tears shed, equipment malfunctioned, smokers caught on fire 😱, vehicles broke down....but there was also so much love, customers became like family, food became art and an extension of love, and we learned our own limits & how to love each other thru them❤️. What a whirlwind! I’m
so proud of the positive impact that Emergency Ribz has had, this little shack has come farther in less than a year than most new businesses have achieved. I am so very proud and in awe of the man behind it all, you are amazing sir ❤️🐼
-Calena
