Immigrant Korean War vet turned McDonald's owner paid 90 employees for 3 months during closure: 'I've been in their shoes'



McDonald's franchise owner Tony Philou needed to close one of his restaurants because it was in need of renovations. However, the reconstruction would shut down the fast-food restaurant for about three months. That would mean that employees of the McDonald's location would be out of work. However, Philou stepped up big time to make sure his employees were taken care of.

Philou, 90, immigrated to the United States from Greece as a child.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army, and served as an infantryman during the Korean War.

After the war, he worked full-time at the TRW Valve Division plant — an automotive and aerospace parts manufacturer in Cleveland. In 1962, Philou took a part-time job as a fry cook and slicing cheese at a McDonald's in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. He was paid 90 cents per hour.

"I started from the ground level up," Philiou told TODAY.

In 1977, Philou took ownership of the Mayfield Heights location. Philou went on to own and operate several McDonald's franchise locations.

The Mayfield Heights restaurant needed renovations in March, but it would close the location for roughly three months.

“We needed to get it up to par, both facility- and equipment-wise, and also [make it] a better place for the employees to be working,” Philiou told Fox Business.

He was faced with laying off dozens of his employees while the construction took place. Instead, he paid all 90 of his employees throughout the entire closure.

"It was not a hard decision for me," Philiou said. "I’ve been in their shoes. I knew what it would be if they didn't have a check on a weekly basis."

Philou told his employees, "You're going to sit home, you're going to get paid. I'm hoping that you come back with me when I open up the store to run a beautiful store in this lovely community of Mayfield Heights."

Ed Kocsis – the general manager of the restaurant – told the Washington Post, "Employees were floored, and they were extremely appreciative."

Philou stated, "Our employees are extremely grateful. As for the community here, which I’m blessed to be working with, they’ve been very supportive of us."

"I’m blessed to be able to do this," he said. "And I did it because what [my employees] have done in the past have made the store a success."

Philou didn't disclose how much the generous act cost him, but he joked that the restaurant would "need to sell a lot of cheeseburgers to make it up."

The Mayfield Heights McDonald's reopened on July 6 with a large crowd and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Philiou said, "I encourage my employees to stay with me. As I grow, they will grow."

Mayfield Heights McDonald's owner pays employees during renovation www.youtube.com

Best man ends up with bride after gushing wedding speech professing love for his best friend's wife



Bride Desiree White was clearly moved by the wedding speech of her ex-husband's best man — so much so that when she divorced her former husband, she moved on with with the outspoken best man.

The New York Post recounted on Tuesday White's story.

What are the details?

The couple made headlines after White divorced her husband and married his best man, Bryant.

During his best man speech at White's first wedding, Bryant drunkenly confessed that he was in love with her in front of at least 200 other wedding guests.

“He said, ‘I remember the first moment I saw Desiree, I loved her. I fell in love with her. I knew she had to be mine. I thought she was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life,’” White recalled of Bryant's toast. “He said, ‘She’s the best person I’ve ever met. I’ve never met anyone like her. Then I found out she already had a boyfriend and I thought I needed to find out a way to get her, but then I met [White’s ex-husband] and we became friends.’”

Bryant concluded the emotional speech, “[Bryant] then just said, ‘Love you both — congratulations.’ It ended there. Everyone was kind of laughing — and then it got quiet.”

Later that night, White danced with Bryant during the reception, where he told her that he would have taken care of her had he the chance growing up.

“I asked him what he meant and he said, ‘Nothing. I love you, I love [White’s ex-husband],’” she recalled him saying. “Then he got quiet.”

White said that she didn't give Bryant's announcement much thought for at least a year — until she began growing apart from her then-husband.

“When [my ex and I] broke up and divorced, I went through a depression and was really secluded myself," she admitted. "I just didn’t want to make an effort for anything.”

Bryant, however, apparently saw his chance and helped her out of her dark place following the divorce.

“He’d ask me to eat with him or hang out and watch a show. He was trying to be there for me. ... It was out of nowhere. When he kissed me, I didn’t stop it, then I kissed him back,” she recalled. “I was shocked that it was a good kiss. It felt good and natural.”

White said that she immediately took to Bryant as naturally as a fish takes to water. She soon became pregnant with their first child, and the two got married.

“[Bryant] said, ‘I always wanted to marry you and this isn’t because of the baby, but let’s start this family right,’” White said. “We were always friends but when we were together [romantically], it was like nothing was hard to do anymore knowing we had each other.”

The couple's history

White added that she was left mildly embarrassed by Bryant's initial public proclamation of love and rather confused, as the two long shared a comfortable, platonic friendship.

“Bryant and I met each other in class at high school,” White explained. “I had a boyfriend at the time and, because of that, I really wasn’t going to talk to other people. Bryant and my ex-husband became best friends and, because they were guys, they did a lot together. They did everything together.”

White added that she and her ex-husband set Bryant up on a variety of dates, but none of them stuck — and she never once considered him as a potential partner.

“I’ve been on double dates with him and I always tell people I wouldn’t have ever dated the person he was then,” White said, “He had a lot of growing up to do. I didn’t really look at him in that way.”

Mom’s response to her young teen son’s cruel dating prank goes viral and wins the internet’s praise



A slew of Reddit users praised an anonymous mother for doing the right thing after her son's cruel dating prank on a friend resulted in a severe punishment.

The topic was broached on popular Reddit thread "r/AmItheA**hole."

What are the details?

The unnamed mother, who goes by the user "conflictedMomThA," explained that her 15-year-old son — whom she referred to as "Jacob" in the thread — pulled an "incredibly cruel 'prank'" on "Ashley," a female friend.

"I know this girl, she's been to our house and even attended Jacob's birthday party a month ago," the mom wrote. "She seemed incredibly sweet if not a bit shy. So when my oldest son 'Mark' (17) came to me and told me Jacob had asked Ashley out on a date as a prank I was stunned."

The mother said that she immediately wanted to confront her son in hopes that the report wasn't true — but had suspicions that the teen had gone and made a mockery out of Ashley's apparent affections toward him after she'd seen lengthy message exchanges with her son and his friends on chatting app Discord.

"I was speechless," she said of reading the messages, which were left open on a public device. "And that's not even getting into HOW he was talking, like he was some thug and not a 15 year old living in a gated community."

The woman said that she felt gutted over her son's apparent heartlessness and debated on how to confront him and how to handle the ensuing consequences.

"[A]fter a day of thought I decided what was going to happen," she recalled. "First things first, he was grounded, for how long I'm not sure. Secondly, I'd gotten Jacob a bike for his birthday but it hadn't arrived until the day previous and I'd planned to give it to him when my parents came to visit since they'd been unable to make his party."

The mom said that she decided to use the bicycle as a teaching tool — and one that he'd likely never forget.

"[I]nstead of [giving him the bike] I showed him I knew about the 'prank' and told him he was grounded, then I made him carry the new bike out of my bedroom closet and to the car before driving to Ashley's house, him crying the whole way," she said. "I'd called her parents earlier and explained everything and so once we got there I had him cart it to their front porch and ring the bell."

At that point, she said, she demanded her son issue an apology to the young girl in front of her parents — and give her the bike.

"[I]n front of me, Ashley, her parents, and God I had him give a sincere apology and gift her the bike," the mother said. "Even I apologized to her, saying I didn't raise my boy this way and what he did was unforgivable. I also called the parents of the other boys who were apart of this little stunt and they all seemed rightfully horrified by their sons' involvement."

The woman said that she eventually told her parents what happened to her son's bike — but that they responded that she had been too harsh and had gone too far with the punishment.

"I still feel like what I did was right but having my parents more or less dog pile on me like this actually made me wonder if how I handled it was too extreme? AITA here?" she asked, using the abbreviation for "Am I the asshole?"

What has been the response?

The thread, shared on Thursday, has amassed more than 19,500 upvotes and received more than 2,000 comments, resulting in an overwhelming number of users branding her "not the asshole."

One user responded, "[Y]ou did the right thing. If there hadn’t been consequences that hit where it hurt, he may not have learned how unacceptable that behavior is. That cruelty is sadly common in kids around that age, but this is the absolute right step towards him becoming a good man."

Another added, "I'm sad to say I know how cruel young boys can be. Not personally but back when I was in high school I witness something similar to this happen to the 'weird girl' and it ended very very poorly for her. May she rest in peace."

"Not to mention the effects of these kinds of 'jokes' are lasting," one user responded. "I’m 21, I had this s**t happen to me when I was 11-15, I still have a hard time accepting compliments, or believing anyone could be attracted to me despite being in a 5 year relationship. In my head I’m still the undesirable girl who people find so repulsive that the idea of dating me is a big hilarious joke to them."

Another responded, "Your son has hopefully learned a lesson here. You're doing tough things a parent needs to do to raise their kids properly. You could've handled this an easy way, but you did it the hard way and the right way."

You can read the full thread of responses here.

(H/T: Newsweek)