Ten workers went home with $1,000 after diner leaves $10,000 tip at Florida restaurant

A customer at a north Florida restaurant gathered the staff of 10 employees together to thank them for their hard work. In a remarkable act of generosity, the man then handed the staff a $10,000 tip to share.

The man, his wife, and son finished their dinner at the Wahoo Seafood Grill, the Gainesville Sun reported, before giving the generous tip.

An employee told the newspaper that he suspected something out of the ordinary would happen when the heavy-set, muscular man had the workers assemble in a group.

Each employee went home with $1,000 in hand.

The owner of the restaurant, Shawn Shepherd, told the newspaper he got a call from his employees that night. They told him about the big tip, but he thought it sounded suspicious.

“Check his ID and the name on the back of his credit card,” Mr Shepherd told the employee who called.

Despite the owner’s suspicions, the restaurant’s point-of-sale system approved the transaction. Mr Shepherd said he checked back the next day to make sure the money was still there.

Mr Shepherd compared the event to a holiday.

“Watching these guys get their check was almost as good as Christmas morning,” Mr Shepherd told the GainesvilleSun.

He said he’s very thankful for the diner because his employees have been loyal to the restaurant through the pandemic. Service workers were particularly at risk for contracting Covid-19 because they were more likely to be exposed at work, which by definition cannot be performed from home.

Among those benefitting from the big tip was Ashley Green, who was called into work that day. She had recently endured a rough time because her daughter was ill.

“She’s had a hard month, she’s been not able to work. Kid has been in and out of the hospital. It’s been absolutely a really stressful time for her,” Mr Shepherd said.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, Mr Shepherd said he temporarily closed the Wahoo and lost some $30,000 in food. Beyond this restaurant, The National Restaurant Association said restaurant and food-service sales were $240 billion below its 2020 pre-pandemic forecasts.

“I knew nothing about curbside, I knew nothing about delivery and takeout. We weren’t prepared for that. We didn’t even have the containers to do it,” Mr Shepherd said.

He noted that the Florida Restaurant Lodging Association and the Alachua County Chamber of Commerce were a big help, finding them emergency funding to pay the employees. He reopened the Wahoo in May.

He said he’s indebted to his employees because they’ve helped keep the restaurant afloat during hard times.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press