Wimberley Café serves up perfect present

Ken Baxter wanted to do something special for his wife Tyra’s birthday. The Wimberley Café chipped in to make it a moment that she will never forget.

Ken sent Tyra on a birthday getaway from their home in Houston to Frederickburg. It was a girl’s trip for her, her sisters and a friend. He also told her there was a reservation at the Wimberley Café they couldn’t miss on the way home on Sunday. He planned it out.

Tyra had her eyes on a new puppy, but not just any dog. She wanted a toy Australian Shepherd. Ken found one and purchased it. The breeder, Bambi Walker, works at the Wimberley Café.

Tyra didn’t know when she showed up for her reservation that her new dog would be included in the price of purchase. Ken didn’t know that Bambi and café owner Jen Bachman would take the surprise to a whole nother level.

“The original plan was for Bambi to be their server and at the end of the meal she was going to bring out the puppy as a surprise,” Bachman said. “But Bambi couldn’t be there. She wanted to make it nice, and she was really inspired about it. She was upset she couldn’t be there, so she wanted me to do something special in her place.”

Bachman didn’t disappoint. She had to do some planning too.

“We had to convince her to sit outside, because we were going to be giving her a dog that couldn’t come inside the restaurant,” Bachman said. “So we brought over all the warmers and surrounded her table and told her it would be a 45 minute wait if she wanted to sit inside.”

Coffee was on the table, and Bachman walked out with a birthday card and a rose.

“I did not ask them for this,” Ken said. “I couldn’t believe it. This is small town hospitality at it’s finest.”

One by one, each Wimberley Café employee stopped what they were doing and walked over to the table with a rose.

“They even got the cook out there on a busy Sunday,” Ken said. “I used to work at a restaurant and you don’t pull the cook out of the kitchen on a busy day for nothing.”

The 24th rose was attached to the collar of Tyra’s new toy Australian Shepherd. The moment overwhelmed her and she started to cry – tears of joy for sure.

“All of this was just to say ‘Happy Birthday,” Ken said. “Bambi said ‘We are going to make this special.’ But they went so far. I asked if I could pay for it, and they said ‘No sir. It is free of charge.’ These are just down to earth, real good people. We got the small town hospitality. We really got it. Next time we go on vacation, I know where we’ll be going.”

Tyra appreciated the gesture from both her husband and the people she had never met before this weekend that helped make the moment so special.

“My heart is so full on this 40th year of my life,” Tyra said in a post on Facebook. “I truly feel so much joy, gratitude, and most of all I feel I’m the most blessed woman in the world. My husband did all of this on his own even surprising my friend and sisters along the way. The kindness and selflessness of even complete strangers has made my heart leap.”