Windsor bar patrons thanked for 'not boozing and getting behind the wheel'

Several patrons who left their vehicles overnight in the parking lot of a Windsor, Ont., bar were likely pleased by what was left for them under the windshield.

Last Friday morning, John O’Kane, one of the owners of John Max Sports & Wings, left $20 vouchers, two free hours of volleyball court rentals and a thank you note on four cars left overnight in the lot.

“I didn’t know if they’d drank alcohol so I said ‘Thanks for not drinking and driving, if you did consume alcohol, we really appreciate your business,’” he tells Yahoo Canada News. “I didn’t do it for any PR. I just did it to give thanks.”

A similar notice that his wife had shown him on her Pinterest inspired his gesture.

“Please accept this as a thank you for being responsible,” O’Kane’s note reads. “Life is valuable, have a wonderful weekend.”

While no one has directly come forward to thank O’Kane for his kind act, Scott Defoe shared a photo of the note and posted it on Facebook. Soon enough, it started trending in the Windsor area.

“Nice move John Max and thank you!” Defoe wrote on his Facebook page.

Viva La Vita commented, “That’s unreal! What a great way to show appreciation.”

Another Facebook friend Scott Robert wrote, “just dropped my car off there.”

Defoe’s post garnered other positive comments, including “class act,” “unreal” and “that’s awesome!”

Since business at both locations of his bar is “very strong,” O’Kane says it’s hard to tell if the attention has helped boost sales.

O’Kane did the same thing Friday morning to two cars that were left overnight in the lot.

“It helped my reputation,” he says. “But I just wanted to thank people for not boozing and getting behind the wheel. It touches me that people are taken by it. That means it worked.”