Chef Andrew Gruel allows active military members to eat for free at all of his restaurants, but cases of stolen valor have forced him to ask for proof.
"The reason why that works for me, and why it came about, is just inherent pathological respect that I have for anybody that serves in both the military, or as first responders, and I think that it's often ignored," Gruel told Fox News Digital.
"We know the statistics showing how much a lot of these veterans, especially combat veterans, who come back over after being in combat, are kind of ignored through the VA and all these other public services," he continued. "And a lot of the homeless are veterans. It's a real significant issue in America culturally and frankly, it disgusts me."
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Gruel, the CEO and founder of American Gravy Restaurant Group, operates multiple restaurants across California, including Calico Fish House and Big Parm Pizza.
"If we can just put one small foot forward and help out where we can, and frankly, if everybody did a little bit, then the government wouldn't have to do a lot. And we know they're not going to," Gruel said.
Gruel said that active military members do take him up on the offer, but not as often as one might think. He said many have too much pride to take a free meal, but he regularly encourages them to accept the food and simply "pay it forward."
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American Gravy establishments also offer a 50% discount to veterans, but sadly, Gruel’s team had to start checking I.D. to make sure people are telling the truth.
"There's a lot of -- they call it stolen valor," Gruel said.
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Gruel said he used to take people’s word for it if they said they were active military or a veteran, but Nick Velez, a close friend and Iraq combat veteran who founded Save the Brave, urged him to make sure people weren’t stealing valor for a free meal.
Gruel said that, at Velez’s request, he checked the identification of some guests who didn’t pass the sniff test.
"It turns out they weren’t… veterans, they were just making it up. So now we actually do check military I.D. cards and get evidence," Gruel said.
Gruel, who founded the fast casual seafood chain Slapfish, operates current concepts including Calico Fish House, Big Parm Pizza, Two Birds Chicken, Butterleaf, Lolo’s Tacos and 101 Burger. His menus offer something for everybody, as military members and veterans can find everything from Maine lobster rolls and bone-in ribeye steaks to chicken parm sandwiches and various salads at American Gravy locations.
