A California waitress who missed out on a week’s pay because the restaurant she worked at was shut down for the week received a $1,000 tip from a customer.
The Mainstream Bar and Grille in Poway, which is located just outside San Diego, had to close due to a boil water order. When the restaurant opened six days later, waitress Sarah Klein was speaking to one of her regulars about how the outage had affected her and her family.
“You do really want to budget,” she said. “You really want to figure out what you want to do for the holiday or how you are going to spend your money. So that was scary.”
The customer then came back with an envelope filled with ten $100 bills inside for whatever she needed, calling it “a donation.”
“Poway is like a family,” General Manager Brian Harvey said. “And they come together in times of need, and it’s definitely one of those times.”
As for what Klein is going to do with the money, she said she is still deciding.
“Gosh I don’t know,” she said. “You know, just spend it on my son’s birthday is this month, and the holidays. So now there is so much more we can do. So I’m just really proud to be in Poway.”
Klein is not the first waitress to receive such a large tip recently. An Ohio waitress received $1,000 in tips from one generous restaurant patron who was very happy with his service and feeling generous back in October.
In 2016, a college-bound waitress received a $1,000 tip on a $9 order.