Anonymous good Samaritan buys dinner for group of high schoolers going to prom — with one condition

Students on their way to prom were treated to dinner by an anonymous gentleman who said that their group of 11 friends reminded him of his younger days. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)
Students on their way to prom were treated to dinner by an anonymous gentleman who said that their group of 11 friends reminded him of his younger days. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

On Saturday, 11 students went to Double D Steak for dinner before their prom at Fortuna High School in Calif.

According to Kim McKenzie Emmons, a parent of one of the students, the waiter informed the group they could order whatever they liked, as another guest had offered to pay for their meal. To the students’ surprise, there was one stipulation to claim the free dinner — they all had to stay off of their phones for the entire meal. The high school students handed over their phones to the waiter and enjoyed their meal without any screentime.

"The great part about this story is that my daughter said they talked the whole night without distractions and said it was a blast," Emmons shared on Facebook.

After the group enjoyed their dinner, the benefactor of the meal approached the table. "The anonymous gentleman came to their table while he was leaving and told them they were a beautiful group and that it brought back memories of his time when he was younger," Emmons wrote.

"This was the best story of the night!!!" a fellow parent wrote on Emmon's Facebook post. "I am still humbled, proud and excited for these kids! What an amazing man to do such a selfless gesture. I told Branson that I believe there was a bigger picture to the story, and that I hope each and every young person at that table took a valuable lesson from it. I’d really like to find this amazing man and thank him myself."

Even the steakhouse chimed in. "This was so awesome! It was so nice to see them all conversing with each other and not on the phones!" the restaurant commented on the Facebook post.

Emmons ended her post by thanking the anonymous man, whom she still hopes to identify so she can thank him in person. She wrote, "Thank you to the gentleman that not only paid for their dinner, but [also] taught them you can have a really good time without technology."

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