Janelle Martin from Nebraska never expected a chain of events to be set off when her husband, Austin Martin, left his truck overnight in the parking lot of the Union Bar and Grill in Gering. The next morning, Janelle and Austin found a note on the windshield of his truck, and it had her running to social media to share her surprise.
In her Facebook post, Janelle praised the Union Bar and Grill owners, Scott and Carla Swanson, for their thoughtfulness towards their guests.
The note on the truck read, “Just wanted to thank you (for) leaving your car parked overnight… we want to thank you for not drinking and driving. Bring this letter to the bar and we will give you a hamburger and fries… please accept this as a thank you for being responsible. Life is valuable, have a great day.”
Janelle and Austin Martin
The Swansons’ letter of appreciation for responsible drinking behavior went viral and has since been shared multiple times on social media. The gesture of offering a free meal in exchange for not drinking and driving was so unexpected that it had even the local news showing up to interview the Swansons.
In the interview, Scott Swanson revealed that he and his wife came up with the idea two years ago when they saw ten cars parked in their lot. They decided to think of something to do for their patrons who were responsible and came up with the idea of a free meal.
Carla and Scott Swanson, owners of the Union Bar and Grill (
Scott’s wife, Carla, came up with the letter, which they’ve been doing as a reward for responsibility ever since. The free burger and fries offer is only done sparingly and sporadically to prevent people from taking advantage of it.
The Swansons’ message is clear: life is valuable, and they want to remind drivers and their guests at Union Bar and Grill to be responsible. They hope that their viral note will encourage other bars to consider doing something similar for their patrons, and they want everyone to remember to never drink and drive.
