Chili's fixes "broken" cheeseburger, saves little girl's day.

Anna Kaye MacLean couldn’t understand why her 7-year-old sister, Arianna, wouldn’t eat her cheeseburger. Dining at Chili’s in Midvale, UT, the little girl was chowing down on her fries, but when asked about her cheeseburger – a usual favorite – Arianna replied, “It’s broken. I need another one that’s fixed.” Anna then noticed that Arianna’s cheeseburger had been cut in half by the cook – a common method of preparation when serving large or potentially messy food to young children. And therein lay the problem; Arianna had never been served a cheeseburger cut in half before. You see, Arianna is autistic.

Children with autism appreciate consistency; changes in their routine, even something as minute as a food item being served in a different manner than usual, can cause confusion, and in some cases, even feel frightening and traumatic.

Not wanting to cause a fuss, Anna asked her waitress, Lauren, if she could add an additional cheeseburger to the check, one that wasn’t cut in half, and explained Arianna’s circumstances. Anna worried Lauren might think her request silly, but to her surprise, Lauren turned to Arianna and said, “I brought you a broken cheeseburger?”. Smiling at the little girl, Lauren told her that a new burger – one that wasn’t broken – was on its way.

Even the manager came to the table, kneeling down and telling Arianna, “I’m so sorry about [the cheeseburger]. We are making you a brand new one that isn’t broken, with pickles!”

When Lauren returned and Arianna set her eyes on her new, complete cheeseburger, Arianna exclaimed “Thank you! You ‘fixded’ my cheeseburger!”

But that wasn’t the best part. As Lauren walked away, Arianna stared long and thoughtfully at her cheeseburger. Finally, she sighed, “Oh, I missed you!” and planted a kiss right on the bun.

Not many people, especially busy restaurant servers, would think twice about helping out in a situation others would find as silly and superfluous as a cut-in-half cheeseburger. But for one little girl, a simple act of kindness and compassion went a very long way.