He paid for a stranger's meal at a Taco place—gets an unexpected special reward from the restaurant
Many people show up for others during their inconvenient and messy moments. A man did the same for strangers after he realized that the card reader at a taco place was down. The restaurant, Tacos TJ, could only take cash payments when a family walked in to have some tacos. However, they didn't have enough cash on them to cover their dinner. So Calli Shears and her family had decided to leave empty-handed. Then, a Wichita man, Jerad, stepped in to save the day for the family, per 12 News
"We were in the middle of trying to fix everything. We were worried that people would have to leave and their dinner would be ruined," Priscilla, a staff member, told the outlet. "So we were waiting outside for a little bit before we were able to get inside and they had a wrap-around line," Calli recounted. All of them really wanted some shrimp and birria tacos. So they were really "bummed" to learn that the sales system was down. Nonetheless, they were on their way out when Jerad stopped them and offered them some cash. The man felt that the family really shouldn't have to leave without getting their favorite tacos. Jerad handed them a $100 bill even after the family denied it multiple times.
"He said, 'Yes, dinner is on me tonight," Calli went on. The mom was very thankful for the offer and told Jerad that they had $20 cash and asked him if he had Venmo. "He was like, 'No, no, don't even worry about it.'" Calli's son recalled, "When we gave him the change back, he walked back in the line and tipped the staff." The family was in complete disbelief at the stranger's kindness. However, the mom had gotten curious because of the stranger's act and decided to take a picture and post it on Facebook. She shared the incident with the Wichita Food and Booze community on the platform. "I wanted to see if anybody could recognize this guy."
"I feel like crying. We are at Taco TJs and they inform us that it is cash only. We are about to leave and a guy follows us out with $100 cash. He said absolutely not- you’re eating tacos tonight. I asked to send him the money on Venmo. He said, 'Don’t worry about it.' There are some incredible people in this world. Seriously," the Facebook post read. "Thank you, kind sir, for our tacos tonight." Jerad shared the emotional reason behind his gesture with 12 News. "When I was a young man, I grew up poor. A family took me in when I needed it the most. They ended up raising me until I turned 18 and moved out on my own. If they hadn’t ever done that, I never would be in the place I am today and I, frankly, wouldn’t be able to help somebody out like that. I owe everything to them."
People appreciated the man's generosity in the comments section of the Facebook post. Melissa Samson Riley wrote, "Thank you for sharing this awesome story and bless this man! Sometimes humans are the absolute best!" Loly Lopez commented, "I love this so much. This is so awesome! I hope he sees this post and sees how highly we all think of him. Bless you, Taco man." Jamie Chris remarked, "I’m in and out of Wichita these days, but I really miss when I was there 24/7, the people can be some of the best there is!" The restaurant also had a special surprise for Jerad, per the outlet. They offered him a "Taco Hero" certificate and free tacos for the rest of 2025, starting in September.
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