A barbecue restaurant in Virginia Beach, Virginia has been honoring the lives lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001 since the day they opened. Mission BBQ opened its doors on that frightening day over 13 years ago, and with the help of its owners and regular customers, pays tribute to the day every day by encouraging diners to stand and recite the national anthem.
According to a local site, a restaurant staffer on a loudspeaker gets the lunch crowd — which includes many servicemen from the nearby Naval Air Station — to their feet each day:
When midday strikes, customers drop their pulled pork or slathered ribs, push back their chairs and stand at attention, facing a flag that hangs from the ceiling in the center of the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a recording on the loudspeaker begins, "please join us in honoring our country as we do every day at noon with the singing of our national anthem."
Mission BBQ's tradition, it must be said, is in much better taste than what chain restaurants continue to do each year on social media by using the day as a way to reinforce their brand image.