A Massachusetts cafe offered free coffee to its customers — only if they were willing to do one thing

A small coffee shop in Middleborough, Massachusetts, is serving up free coffee—but only for customers willing to dance. A viral post of customers dancing to earn their morning cup is proof that, today, savvy businesses are trading pricey billboards for creative in-house marketing. Through social media, Joshua Rashid, owner of Coffee Milano Cafe, decided on the idea after coming across a pizza shop trying something similar.

The cafe shared a TikTok video featuring the happy customers who came through their doors. Their signboard read, “Want a FREE COFFEE?? Walk in and give us your BEST Dance moves for 5 seconds!!” The video begins with a woman keeping aside her shoes, ready to dance, and soon the floor fills with several others joining in one by one, as reported by TODAY. As the video went viral with millions of views, netizens chimed in on the clever idea.

A TikTok user, @alittlebitcountry_1, commented, "This brought tears to my eyes!! Why??? Because I am so tired of the negative on TikTok and finally see something positive!!! These are happy tears!!!" Another person, who goes by the username @redlucille, echoed, "I would sit there all day and people watch. With my free cup, of course." In a similar vein, @cocoarolo, wrote, "This should be a law every Monday morning at all stores!!" Meanwhile, @vanhsaymekdara pointed out, "All the dancers that came in, I noticed one thing. They ALL had a big smile...happy. That's what we all need."

Commenting on the immense response, the owner, Rashid, said, "It was fun, energetic, lively, happy, and smiley. Not a frown or bad mood in sight!" The energy was so contagious that Rashid now plans to turn it into a monthly tradition, as reported by USA Today. Rashid’s social media manager also said, “We had probably 15-20 people show up and dance for us. It was kind of cool.” He added, “You know, life isn’t always easy. Sometimes you just see something that puts the greatest smile on your face, and it brings tears to your eyes.” The owner stressed, “You have got to have some joy in this world, and if a little five-second dance brings you joy, then it’s worth the free coffee.”

The social media manager also shared that their digital presence has grown significantly since the incident. Kristyn Shay, social media manager at SCORE—a nonprofit championing small business growth—also commented on the same. Shay opined that it’s time small businesses meet customers where they are. She claimed that if the businesses are not online, they are invisible. One's social media game, she claimed, is hence crucial to succeed in a world where everyone is on their phones, as reported by CNN.