Michael Garcia, waiter at Laurenzo's on Washington, is a hero

Hero may seem like a strong word to some, but he kind of is. Here's why...

Michael Garcia is a waiter at Laurenzo's Restaurant at 4412 Washington Avenue in Houston. He told Channel 2 News that his regular customers are like family to him, including 5-year old Milo Castillo who happens to have Down's Syndrome. On Wednesday when Milo and his family visited Laurenzo's, a male diner moved his family away from Milo's family's table and commented that: "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else."

Mr. Garcia overheard the man's comment, approached the man, and told him that he would be unable to serve him. The man said, essentially, "If that's the case, then we're leaving" and left the restaurant. Milo's parents didn't know about what happened until they were told by another waiter. 

Milo's mom Kim Castillo was worried that Michael might lose his job, but it appears Laurenzo's is standing behind Michael and what he did. Which is great, because the one customer they lost when Michael refused to serve him will be more than made up for by the many people who will make a special point to go to Laurenzo's on principle. (If you read the comments to the Channel 2 article, several people have said they plan to go to Laurenzo's). Besides: *@#& that guy anyway, who wants him as a customer!

This story clearly has nothing to do with personal injury law, but I couldn't help but write about it. Well played Michael Garcia and well played Laurenzo's for standing behind him.

Update: here's a great follow-up story on what Michael is doing with the publicity his story has generated.

5-year old Milo Castillo

Michael Garcia