For almost a decade, I worked at a local Wawa convenience store as I was trying to build my writing career. In my time there, “regulars” were part of my everyday life. There were a handful of people you could count on showing up several times a day for lunch, for coffees, and little grocery needs. I could tell you more than what their order would be; I could tell you their kids’ names, where they worked, what they loved, and had inside jokes with so many of them. You end up seeing them more than you do your own family in some cases and might even worry about their well-being.
Florida chef Donell Stallworth knows that all too well and certainly proved it for 78-year-old regular Charlie Hicks, according to the New York Post. Every day Hicks would patronize the Shrimp Basket restaurant in Florida and order the same thing for lunch and dinner, but when Hicks didn’t show up one day, Stallworth got concerned. At first when the staff phoned his home, Hicks explained he was ill, so they simply dropped off his usual at the door at his insistence, because he didn’t want to get anyone sick, the Pensacola News Journal noted.
By the third day of his illness, Hicks’ phone went straight to voicemail, which Stallworth told CBS News was the point he started to fear the worst. In the middle of his shift, the chef left to go check on him. He knocked repeatedly but got no answer.
“And right when I was going to turn, I heard something, a voice, just like, ‘Help’. And then I opened the door up. He was lying on the ground, and I didn’t know what his condition was — that was the scariest part right there,” Stallworth explained to the outlet.
Hicks had two broken ribs and was severely dehydrated, so he was taken to the hospital to recover. The staff brought him his favorite meal every day.
When Hicks was eventually released, they even helped him move into an apartment right next door to the restaurant.
“We made a connection. We made a connection,” Hicks told CBS News. Now Hicks is back to making in-person appearances at the Shrimp Basket, and the staff couldn’t be more thrilled.
“He’s that uncle. He’s that grandfather. He’s that best friend. He’s all in one,” Stallworth said.
In October, the Shrimp Basket owners awarded Stallworth with a Big Catch Award that praises his efforts “living out the Shrimp Basket values.” He has worked there for the past 18 years as the very beloved chef, and presumably, he will keep on doing so.
