ARLINGTON, Texas — When you’re 12 and own your own restaurant, you’ve already accomplished a lot.
Despite that, Olivia Huynh says she’s never given away a free meal and she really, really wants to.
“I always just wanted an astronaut to come here and that’s all I’ve thought of,” Huynh said.
As we first reported last year, Huynh really loves space and a couple years ago, she opened Rocketbelly, a space-themed bubble tea and chicken joint in Arlington.
Almost immediately, she instituted a strict company policy: Astronauts eat free.
Unfortunately, for Huynh, Rocketbelly isn’t exactly on NASA’s flight path. Not a single space traveler has walked through the door.
Chris Cassidy has been to space three times and spent more than a year orbiting the earth.
His most recent trip was his last. He retired from NASA in 2021.
So how did he land at Rocketbelly?
Cassidy is now president and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum opening next year in Arlington. For that reason, one of Huynh’s customers knows Cassidy and asked him to stop by Rocketbelly, which for Cassidy wasn’t rocket science.
“I really feel a lot of personal satisfaction seeing a glimmer in a young kid’s eye,” he said.
During his visit last week, Cassidy talked to Huynh, gave her some personal memorabilia and took time to answer questions from her space loving customers.
He got his meal, of course but Huynh says he insisted on paying.
However, his greatest tip for anyone reaching for the stars is to always keep reaching.
“Statistically, very few people will end up in the same uniform,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean people should stop trying.”
It’s advice this enthusiastic earthling took to heart.
“Anything can come true if you hope in it and believe in it,” Huynh said.
So says the girl whose dreams are taking flight.
NOTE: The following video was uploaded in July 2023.
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