This looks like something you'd find in the Onion or DailyCurrant or the National Report. But it checks out 100%. More below.
Mary Haglund, the owner of Mary's Gourmet Diner in Winston-Salem, NC, has confirmed that when she's touched by someone praying, the restaurant gives them a discount off of their meal.
I haven't figured out how to post pics (and yes, I read the 'how to') so I linked to the photo on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/...
According to the writeup about this in Huffington Post, Haglund asserted that the discount is not associated with any particular religious affiliation, and that waitstaff has discretion over when to offer it.
There's a lot of craziness going on in regard to the 15% discount. I will not respond to all the posts. I will say that it is not a "policy", it's a gift we give at random to customers who take a moment before their meal. This could be prayer or just a moment to breathe & push the busyness of the world away. Who you talk to or meditate on etc. is your business. I have lived in a 3rd world country, there are people starving. We live in a country with an abundance of beautiful food. I NEVER take that for granted. It warms my heart to see people with an attitude of gratitude. Prayer, meditation or just breathing while being grateful opens the heart chakra. It's good for everyone!!!!
A Christian radio station gave this attention by posting a photo of the receipt on its Facebook page.
Of course, something like this will receive mixed reactions. Many have sung its praises. But serious questions do come up. Didn't Jesus tell his followers in the Gospel according to Matthew to confine their praying to private spaces? And even though the owner stated the discount isn't rewarded strictly to people of a particular persuasion, how do I know she's telling the truth? What if I went on a cross-country trip to the mid-Atlantic and stopped there to eat? If I had something that made my atheism known, and then declared that I was grateful for the farmers who cultivated the crops and raised the livestock that made the meal possible, and for weather patterns that cooperated enough? Will one of the waitstaff acknowledge that and give me 15% off?
Even if I accept that the restaurant owner is being honest in saying she doesn't discriminate about who can receive the discount as long as they show some form of gratitude via prayer or silent meditation, there's this thing called the appearance of impropriety. I know she doesn't work for a corporation, but is it really good business practice to be doing that? And even if I'm a person who believes in gratitude, why should I have to pay more because I don't choose to openly express it, but keep that gratitude in my private thoughts?
It's tricky to me whether a policy like this would stand up to constitutional scrutiny. If it's found to be discriminatory, a court should issue a cease and desist order against this policy. Lawyers/constitutional scholars - please weigh in on this.