PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Hundreds of taco lovers got a free meal Thursday thanks to a popular social media influencer.<\/p>\n
Juan Gonzalez, known online as That Was Epic, surprised Taqueria Chicali Mexican Grill<\/a>, on Indian School Road near 78th Avenue<\/a>, with a $10,000 food tab.<\/p>\n He said he asked his fans to nominate Valley restaurants that need a little extra support, and Taqueria Chicali, a family-owned restaurant, rose to the top.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole family works in there. The father\u2019s the owner. He works with his wife and his kids,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n Once he posted the winner on his Facebook page Thursday morning, hundreds of people braved the hot weather and lined up at the Mexican restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cI found out my siblings have a group chat, so they screenshot it and then they send it to us. But on Facebook,\u201d said one fan.<\/p>\n Gonzalez also showed up at the restaurant and took pictures with fans.<\/p>\n Gonzalez said this kind of giveback is just part of the job and it\u2019s a job he loves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps me sleep at night. We\u2019re successful now. We have money income ourselves and we like to give it back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said doing surprises like this makes him feel connected to the community, like they\u2019re all working together to pull off something special.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes me feel amazing,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n