SAN ANGELO, Texas — A social media post went viral after a photo was taken at Texas Roadhouse in San Angelo. It's a Facebook post with more than 42,000 shares, all because of what was printed on a laminated piece of paper.
The first two lines read, “Howdy, my name is Mario and I am deaf. I will be taking care of you today.”
Mario Briseño is the waiter behind the message and with the help of American Sign Language Interpreter, Gina Bouldin, we were able to conduct an interview. Briseño says going viral was a surprise.
“I actually cried. I got pretty emotional. My fiancé and I both did. He was asking me, Are you okay? It was just so unexpected that it had gone viral,” Briseño said.
Briseño remembers the encounter they had with the person who made the post, they didn't think anything of it at the time.
“I first started and I just. I tried to be just cheerful with her. Ask you how your day is and then I saw that she took a picture. I didn't think too much of it, and I signed to her. What would you like to drink? And she, she said, sweet tea,” Briseño said.
Briseño had several jobs in the past but working as a waiter was made possible when Mario’s brother Celo, who also works at Texas Roadhouse, told his boss Mario was interested in the position as a waiter.
“We had an interview and we talked just like I would interview any other employee. And I think the biggest thing that sold me is that I really thought he had a great chance to be successful and overcome any, you know, any, you know, challenges that may come with this man, his smile. That was the biggest thing I told him during his interview is that million dollar smile right there is going to be what's going to be your moneymaker and that's going to be what makes you successful,” Texas Roadhouse San Angelo Managing Partner, Jeff Nowak, said.
Mario has the same tasks as all the employees at the restaurant. Nowak says Briseño’s work ethic speaks for itself.
“He's always been a guy that can be counted on. He's got a great attitude and just got a great energy about him,” Nowak said.
Mario has been a waiter for a little more than a month and the reaction from the San Angelo community has been overwhelming.
“Our guests have really just been great. I mean, the people of San Angelo have been great and they've welcomed with open arms. And there really hasn't not been like that situation where there's just a lot of snags or anything like that,” Nowak said.
Briseño says despite the shares, likes and comments the post is getting, it’s the message behind it that’s important.
“I want to make sure that the deaf community shows… It shows that the deaf community can be equal to the hearing community and that we can do anything that they can do. And it's a big change for the community of San Angelo as well and I just like showing that we can we can be equal. And I want other deaf people to realize that they can do it, too,” Briseño said.
Mario is enjoying serving tables and would like to be promoted in the near future.