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Stranger Who Paid It Forward Made Visiting Man's Birthday At Smoque

By Ariel Cheung | February 20, 2017 5:46am
 Corey (from left), Steve, Dayna and Bradley Ross were in Chicago over the weekend for the Chicago Auto Show and Bradley's birthday.
Corey (from left), Steve, Dayna and Bradley Ross were in Chicago over the weekend for the Chicago Auto Show and Bradley's birthday.
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DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung

IRVING PARK — A meal at Smoque BBQ was supposed to be the perfect end to the Ross family's visit to Chicago.

But they didn't expect it to be free.

Steve and Dayna Ross brought their two adult sons from Detroit to the city for the Chicago Auto Show. Their son Bradley, who has cerebral palsy, also turned 28 on Saturday.

The family ordered dinner at Smoque, 3800 N. Pulaski Road, only to find that the man who ordered before them had given the cashier $80 to cover their meal while picking up his own order.

"The cashier told us it has all been taken care of, and I just said, 'What? Are you kidding me?'" Steve Ross recounted. "What do you do in that situation?"

Adriana Maldonado, who was working the cash register at the time, said it was the first time someone had paid it forward during the eight years she has worked at Smoque.

"He started to tear up and said it was always something he wanted to do," Maldonado said of the customer, a regular at Smoque. "It's the nicest thing that's ever happened here."

The kind stranger already had left when the Ross family placed their order — in front of a DNAinfo reporter who happened to be dining at Smoque — but Maldonado and other employees promised to deliver a note of thanks to him when he returned.

The Ross family left a note for the kind stranger who bought their dinner at Smoque on Saturday. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]

"We want to thank you very much for paying for our dinner," the note reads. "It was so kind of you, and put a smile on our son Bradley's face. It was also Brad's birthday, so it made your kind gesture even more special."

It was a particularly touching way to celebrate Bradley's birthday in Chicago. While he doesn't speak much, his family is looking forward to getting him a new communication device that will patch into a volunteer "Human Voicebank" that will give him the ability to converse.

Still, Bradley was all smiles at Smoque.

The 28-year-old and his mother spent the day at Shedd Aquarium, while Steve and their second son, Corey, went to the auto show at McCormick Place.

"It's been the most perfect weekend," Steve Ross said. "We met some of the nicest people all day. Everybody gives a bad rap to Detroit, to Chicago, but we had the time of our lives. We really did."