A bartender at a Houston-area restaurant is without a job today because he apparently thought it was giggle-worthy to leave a “Happy Sep” message — complete with cartoon plane about to hit the Twin Towers — on the to-go container of a Muslim customer.

The customer was at the restaurant on Sunday night with a friend when he decided to order a to-go burger at the bar. But he knew something was up when his order came out from the kitchen.

“A couple of the guys behind the counter looked at it, and kinda laughing,” he tells KTRK-TV.

On the to-go container, someone had written the message “Happy September 11th” with the two towers making up the “11” and crudely drawn plane approaching.

The customer confronted the bartender about the drawing but says he got no apology.

“It’s a sad day in this country’s history, where we lost 3,000 innocent lives and I don’t ever think there’s ever going to be a time when that’s OK,” he tells KTRK.

After the customer’s online complaint got back to the restaurant’s owner, he fired the bartender for the crass gag.

“I just don’t understand how somebody could think that’s a joke,” says the eatery’s owner. “I mean, it’s not a joke. It’s not how I run my business.”

Last night, the owner spoke with the customer and apologized for the incident. Because of that, the customer says he is willing to give the restaurant another chance: “I hope the words that I heard the owner speak are sincere and I believe they were, so yeah, they’ve got good burgers and I’d hate to pass up on that if I didn’t have to.”

Man finds crude 9/11 joke on his to-go meal box [KTRK]

Thanks to Jared for the tip!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.