Customer Leaves $700 Tip At Waltham Restaurant

WALTHAM, MA — It's a scenario that some dream about and others have made movies about: This weekend, the staff at one Moody Street restaurant had to do a double take because of the size of the tip one of their regular guests left.

On Saturday, a regular came in to Brewer's Tap and Table with some friends. They ordered chicken and waffles, steak and eggs, grilled cheese, wings, bloody marys and mimosas. The bill came to $167.99. A 20 percent tip would have been about $33. In fact, $70 would have been a shock.

But he left $700.

When server Kim Twomey saw the tip, she went to the general manager to ask what to do. They went back to the group to double-check the tip wasn't a typo.

The group was sure.

"It really was just a selfless display of gratitude. It was really humbling for everybody there that day," said Allie LeBlanc, the restaurant's marketing director. "The service industry is so often seen as thankless, even though the best servers aren't there to count tips — they're there because it's a genuine vocation and people want to do well for others. But to be shown that level of appreciation ... it just floored everyone."

The regular asked that the tip be split between the six people working that day.

"It really touched everybody," LeBlanc said, especially because it's not just restaurants and restaurant workers who are going through a tough time amid the pandemic, she said. For that table to pitch in as they did would have been generous even in the best economic circumstances.

And it couldn't come at a more perfect time, she said, as more and more restaurants in greater Boston close or go into hibernation until they can be viable in warmer weather.

After Brewer's Tap and Table reopened at the end of June, it has seen a steady stream of customers, rehired most of the people who were furloughed and installed outdoor heating. It also started offering weekend brunch.

Staff are hoping to keep the restaurant open through the winter.

"To know that we have so much support makes that thought less daunting," LeBlanc said. "We're here to serve the community. We're such a part of the fabric of Moody Street, we don't want to have to close our doors."

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.