Hamburger Mary’s has established itself as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly franchises in the U.S. After opening its first outlet in San Francisco, it now has restaurants in over a dozen locations, including West Hollywood, New York, Denver and Chicago.
Each restaurant has drag performers and hosts popular RuPaul’s Drag Race watch parties and drag and Broadway brunches.
Yesterday, its outlet in Orlando, Florida, posted an adorable video of one of its customers joining staff on stage to perform a beloved song from The Greatest Showman. The customer in question is only six years old, but is already a big Drag Race fan and loves show tunes.
“This 6-year-old boy, Aiden, came to Mary’s yesterday with his parents to see our Sunday show,” a spokesperson said in a caption accompanying a video on Instagram.
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“His parents said that he loves RuPaul’s Drag Race and they wanted to support him. He recently sang, ‘This is Me’ from The Greatest Showman at a karaoke event, and we thought it would fun to surprise him by bringing him to the stage, and having the Brunch Bunch crew back him up. They are in costume from their finale number but do know the choreography from this song. The rest is Magic, with not a dry eye in the house.”
They added, “There is nothing more beautiful than seeing parents who love and support their children whatever that entails. Enjoy!”
Related: Gay-friendly restaurants in Orlando
The staff all wear face visors. They give the boy the drag name ‘Sookie Mary’ – combining the name of his first pet and where he lives (Lake Mary, FL).
The video earned praise from many. One man, @andrewjgibb, commented, “This just warms my heart. It literally brought tears to my eyes watching this boy be true to himself and enjoying every moment. THIS will forever change that boy’s life, a moment he will cherish forever.
“Coming from a family that is not so supportive and growing up only dreaming I could step inside of a place such as Hamburger Mary’s, this is breathtaking. Thank you to everyone who made this night so special for that boy! ❤️ His parents are amazing for being supportive and loving their child as he is.”
That comment prompted a reply from Aiden’s mom, Meghan.
“@andrewjgibb hey there I’m Aiden’s mom and I wanted to let you know we support you! Thanks for spreading the love!”
Meghan also posted a video to her own Instagram, saying “Aiden’s drag debut! Performing live @hamburgermary Excuse me while I cry!”
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Mom Meghan told GayCities, “Aiden absolutely loved his visit! He has been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and just loves putting on shows for us at home and asked if we could go to the season finale. I told him that may not be for a while but remembered Hamburger Mary’s and saw they had the Broadway brunch.
“He loves musicals. So I thought it would be the perfect place.”
“He kept asking if he was going to meet RuPaul. Before the performance, he got to talking with a member of the team and mentioned he had recently sung the song ‘This Is Me’ in an open mic. And they took us all by surprise with that opportunity.”
Meghan continued, “He can’t stop talking about it and would like us to have his birthday party there. It’s in July lol but he likes to plan ahead.”
“My husband and I were both moved to tears, of course, by his performance but what is so hard to explain was the atmosphere created in that room: the people thanking us for just loving him.
“Who knows what the future holds for him but we believe our job as parents is to love him fiercely and teach him kindness don’t cost a damn thing, and love is love is love, and the world can always use a little more.”
