Mr. Steve Bellissimo is not an ordinary elderly man.
Having recently celebrated his 104th birthday, the man has a special relationship with his local Chick-Fil-A restaurant.
The Oldsmar, Florida, resident has been visiting the local food chain restaurant for more than 20 years.
Until 2018, he’d always show up early in the morning, he’d order the same breakfast every day, and he’d read the newspaper.
Mr. Bellissimo, as his name suggests, is a beautiful person.
He has always been so very kind to the staff at the restaurant, and over the years he got to know everyone, who actually started feeling as if he were family.
“His visit was a daily highlight and our team would carve out a good 5-10 minutes each day to sit and talk with him. He always gave the best advice about life, about what’s really important, and expressed a genuine interest in the happenings of our lives,” the staff of Chick-Fil-A shared in a Facebook post.
When he was 98, he started a tradition of celebrating his birthday there, and since then, he has been doing so for six years in a row.
In 2018, when he turned 100, he was given a big surprise by his family and the people working at the restaurant which he will never forget.
He received gifts and birthday cards, but the best present he got that day was free meals for the rest of his life.
“Oh, I think this is just one great surprise for me. I didn’t expect anything like this,” he told Fox 13 at the time. “That is the best gift I could ever receive! Thank you very much!”
Since then, it has been a tradition for Mr. Steve to celebrate his birthday there, although the pandemic made him change the plan a couple of times.
You see, in 2020, he had to celebrate at home, but his Chick-Fil-A family didn’t fail him.
They gathered outside his Florida home and wished him a happy birthday with cute banners and everything.
Last year, they reserved the restaurant just for him on his special day to make sure he’d celebrate his birthday properly.
Of course, earlier this fall, he went back to his favorite restaurant to enjoy a delicious meal and treats for a happy birthday.
“For the sixth year in a row, we were fortunate enough to celebrate one of the sweetest, most genuine, kind, and humble people we have had the pleasure to know,” the Facebook post from early November reads.
The staff added that they feel blessed to have been sharing all these happy moments with this amazing man, and that they wish to have the opportunity to share many more with him.
The video from 2018 when Mr. Steve celebrated his 100th birthday was uploaded on YouTube at the time and people have wished the man a happy birthday over the years.
Watch Mr. Steve’s reaction to the surprise in the video below!
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Source: YouTube – FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Facebook – Chick-fil-A Oldsmar (3740 Tampa Rd, Oldsmar, FL), People
