The "pour it forward" coffee giveaway fad has gone to the dogs.
An Alberta man continued the nationwide trend of paying for the next 500 orders -- but this time, instead of a cup of coffee, the paid-for goods up for grabs were Montreal-style steamed hot dogs.
Dan Mossey, the owner of Oh My Dog BBQ in southeast Calgary, gave away $1000 worth of free hot dogs on Thursday – complete with coleslaw, mustard and onions – after a man walked into his shop last week and offered to buy them for the next 500 customers.
"(He) just said, ‘Here you go, here’s the money, go do it,’" Mossey told CTV Calgary.
The man, described as being in his 20s and known only as “Cody,” gave the money to Mossey and left.
Mossey said there wasn’t enough stock on hand at the time, so the free giveaway had to wait until this week.
On Thursday, customers could be seen waiting in front of the restaurant in Midnapore Mall as early as 10:30 a.m., waiting for Mossey to open his doors.
Customers who didn’t know about the free giveaway were thrilled to learn that their lunch was free, calling the giveaway “fabulous.”
"What a generous opportunity for us and people," one customer said.
"This lifts people’s spirits with everything Calgary’s been through," said another customer. "I think that’s an absolutely wonderful thing to do."
Similar to the recent giveaways at several Tim Horton’s stores, Mossey insists the free goods were not a publicity stunt.
"I wouldn’t do this for self-promotion mainly because it wouldn’t be good for business if it ever got out that it was for self-promotion," he said.
Nevertheless, Mossey said the reception to the giveaway has been so overwhelmingly positive that he is considering giving away free steamed hot dogs again when his three-month old restaurant celebrates its first anniversary next year.
With files from CTV Calgary
