A diner at a North Florida restaurant gathered the 10 employees to thank them for their effort before leaving them with a $ 10,000 tip to share.
The incident happened Tuesday night when the man, his wife and son finished dinner at the restaurant Wahoo Seafood Grill, Published the newspaper Gainesville Sun..
Shawn Shepherd, owner of the Washington, told the newspaper that he received a call that night from his employees, who alerted him to the generous tip. His first reaction was suspicion.
“Check your ID and name on the back of your credit card,” Shepherd advised the employee he called.
However, the restaurant’s point of sale system approved the transaction. Shepherd said he checked in the next day to make sure the money was still there.
“Seeing these guys receive their check was almost as good as Christmas morning,” Shepherd told the Sun.
He was very grateful to the customer as his employees have been loyal to restaurant during the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the beneficiaries of the tip was Ashley Green, who recently had her daughter sick.
“She had a complicated month, not being able to work. Her daughter had been coming in and out of the hospital. It’s been a really stressful period for her,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd narrated that when he started the COVID-19 pandemic he had to temporarily shut down the Wahoo and lost about $ 30,000 in food.
“I didn’t know anything about sidewalk deliveries, I didn’t know anything about home deliveries and takeaway food. We weren’t prepared for that. We didn’t even have food containers to do that,” Shepherd explained.
He stressed that the Florida Restaurant Association and the Alachua County Chamber of Commerce were a huge help in getting them emergency funds to pay salaries to their employees. Shepherd reopened the Wahoo in May.
He has considered himself indebted to his employees because they helped keep the restaurant afloat during this difficult time.