Photo: Chris Kyle / Instagram
He'll be back for seconds.
By NyRee Ausler — Written on Feb 15, 2023
The importance that the role of a father in his child’s life is astronomical.
Statistics show that children with supportive dads are twice as likely to attend college, 80% less likely to be incarcerated, and have a 75% lesser chance of becoming teen parents.
One father by the name of Chris Kyle understands the value he brings to his daughter’s life, and recently reshared a post that went viral back in 2020 when he visited his 18-month-old daughter, Ava’s restaurant, and left an honest review about her service.
Chris Kyle gave his daughter's restaurant a scathing review but vowed to give it another chance.
In the post, Kyle is seen sitting in a tiny chair in his little girl’s play kitchen, chin resting on his hand, patiently awaiting his meal.
Ava seems unbothered by his boredom and is preoccupied with a plastic neon green cup.
In the caption, dad complains about the 45-minute wait and his "server" stepping away for an extended Paw Patrol break.
Kyle admits that the service was lackluster, but vows to give her business another try.
He started out with kudos to Ava on how clean her establishment was but found some issues with her service.
Kyle found pink balloons attached to his chair for no apparent reason.
He claims Ava told him that they belonged to “mommy” and told him to mind his own business.
As he told us, his order took a long time to prepare despite him being her only customer.
On top of that, remember that she left him hanging for 20 minutes while she relaxed and watched an episode of Paw Patrol.
All-in-all this mischievous toddler won her dad over by being her adorable self and he vowed to return.
Kyle’s underlying message is to support Black-owned businesses during Black History Month.
In an interview with ABC News, Kyle explained that he thought the review would be funny and cute, but he also had a more important goal than simply acquiring views, likes, and shares.
Of course, Kyle’s intention was to spend quality time with his daughter and feed her imagination, but he also wanted to encourage viewers to give Black-owned businesses a chance.
According to the entrepreneur, customers in the Black community have a lower tolerance and less patience with Black-owned businesses.
Kyle said, “We don’t allow each other the opportunity to mess up and still return to support that business.”
His theory is correct. Fundera recently posted some telling statistics about Black-owned businesses.
Black-owned businesses receive less financing and higher interest rates than those owned by people from other races, requiring them to use their own capital to keep afloat.
Those businesses owned by Black women earn much less than the ones run by their counterparts from other demographics.
Kyle is on the right track when he discusses the pervasiveness of economic inequality as it relates to businesses owned by Black people.
So, his message to everyone is to give Black-owned businesses the same grace that they would extend to larger corporations and those other small companies they lend their support.
Since blowing up the internet, Ava has grown into a big girl and the loving father has added a baby boy to his family.
With the love, guidance, and support she needs to be whatever she wants to be in life, we can expect amazing things from Ava in the future.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.