If you’ve ever dined out, chances are, you’ve left a tip for the service worker who waited on you. You might have even given an extra gratuity for outstanding service, but the tips left by these patrons were stunning in their generosity.
$5,000 Cash at DiAmicos Italian Market Cafe in Texas
Greg Rubar had been waiting tables at DiAmicos for over 16 years when his car was completely destroyed by flooding in a violent storm. He was left taking taxis and borrowing vehicles from his employers to get to work each day. When a pair of regular customers he’d been serving for nearly eight years found out about it, they decided to step up and help him. When they paid their $27 lunch bill, they also handed Rubar an envelope stuffed with fifty $100 bills. The generous tip equaled $5,000. The couple, who wished to remain anonymous, told Rubar to buy himself a nice car. Rubar attempted to return the cash, but his kind customers would not even consider it.
$10,000 Cash in Greenville, North Carolina at Sup Dogs
A waitress working the Sup Dog in Greenville, North Carolina, was stunned when a customer ordered just two glasses of water, took a few sips from each, and left a stack of cash behind as a tip. Alaina Custer said she initially thought that the money was fake or that someone was playing a joke on her. Thankfully for Custer and her coworkers, it wasn’t a joke. The $10,000 cash tip was left by a famous YouTuber called Mr. Beast. In the spirit of generosity, Custer decided to keep only $800 for herself. She then split the remaining windfall with her coworkers.
$12,000 Cash at Fryn’ Pan Restaurant in Moorhead, Minnesota
Stacy Knutson was working a shift waiting tables at the Fryn’ Pan Restaurant when she noticed that a customer had left a box behind on the table. Grabbing the box, she caught up to the patron in the parking lot and attempted to return it, but the patron instructed her to keep the box. Knutson was stunned to discover that the box contained $12,000 in cash. The mother of five called the police, afraid that the patron had made a mistake when telling her to keep the box filled with money. The police held the cash but eventually returned it to Knutson when they could not find the original owner.
$20,000 + at Peachtree Restaurant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Melissa Mainier was working as a waitress at the Peachtree Restaurant to pay her way through nursing school. 92-year-old Benjamin Olewine was one of her regular customers. One day, as they chatted, Mainier told Olewine of attending nursing school. She shared her struggle to afford tuition, but she didn’t give the conversation much thought. What she didn’t realize was that the kind, elderly customer was also a millionaire and philanthropist. When Olewine paid his $3.45 bill that day, he left an unimaginable tip, offering to pay her tuition for nursing school.
A $3 Million Winning Lottery Ticket at Sal’s Pizzeria in Yonkers, New York
Phyllis Penzo had been working for 24 years as a waitress at Sal’s in Yonkers. Robert Cunningham was a regular customer who enjoyed the linguine with clam sauce. He would often have dinner while chatting with the waitstaff and other regular diners. In 1984, Cunningham made a lighthearted joke offering Penzo, his favorite waitress, half-interest in a lottery ticket as her tip. She agreed, and they each picked half of the required six numbers. Cunningham purchased the ticket at the store across the street. Penzo says she laughed it off and didn’t give it another thought. Until the next evening when Cunningham returned to the pizzeria with the life-changing news that they’d won the $6 million jackpot. As agreed, they split the money evenly. Their story became the inspiration for the 1994 movie It Could Happen to You, starring Nicholas Cage.
