Pensacola, Florida — At the Shrimp Basket restaurant in Pensacola, Florida, one customer has been a constant presence. For lunch, he always orders a cup of gumbo, light on the rice, and asks to hold the cracker.
He also puts the same order in again for dinner. Charlie Hicks, 78, has had the same standing order, every day, twice a day, for 10 years.
Shrimp Basket chef Donell Stallworth says you could set your clock by Hicks.
"Mr. Hicks don't miss no days," Stallworth told CBS News. "We open the doors up, Mr. Hicks is there to greet us."
Hicks was omnipresent at the Shrimp Basket until September, when he suddenly didn't show up for several days.
"I knew, then, something was wrong," Stallworth said.
Fearing the worst, Stallworth left work in the middle of his shift and drove to Hicks' apartment. He knocked on the door repeatedly but got no answer.
"And right when I was going to turn, I heard something, a voice, just like, 'Help,'" Stallworth said. "And then I opened the door up. He was laying on the ground, and I didn't know what his condition was, that was the scariest part right there."
It was unclear how long Hicks had been lying there; it may have been a few days. He was severely dehydrated and had two broken ribs. But thanks to Stallworth, he would survive. And thanks to the staff at the Shrimp Basket, he would never be alone again.
They started by bringing his gumbo to the hospital. Then they went out and helped find him a new apartment, right next to the restaurant, so the employees could always keep a watchful eye.
They even got Hicks new appliances and fixed up his new place.
They did all that work so that this week, three months after his accident, Hicks could pick up his routine right where he left off.
"I'm glad to have you back buddy," Stallworth told him when Hicks entered the Shrimp Basket for the first time in months.
He sat back down at his favorite table and ordered his favorite dish. Nothing had changed except their bond.
"We made a connection," Hicks told CBS News. "We made a connection."
Stallworth said having Hicks now living right next door "is the best thing going."
"He's that uncle," Stallworth said. "He's that grandfather. He's that best friend. He's all in one."
Chef saves man after he didn't come to restaurant
Chef saves elderly man after he didn't show up at restaurant he eats at every day
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