Customer leaves $16,000 tip at New Hampshire restaurant
A customer left a $16,000 tip at a New Hampshire restaurant after ordering $37.93 worth of food and drinks earlier this month.
The male patron, who was not identified, tacked the generous tip to his order of two chili dogs, fried pickle chips and a few cocktails June 12 at the Stumble Inn Bar and Grill in Londonderry, about 30 miles southeast of Concord, NBC Boston reported.
“He’s kind of a mystery man,” bartender Michelle McCudden told the news station. “I’ve been doing this a very long time and I never thought anything like this would happen to me."
Restaurant owner Mike Zarella said he initially thought he misread the receipt.
“I thought it was a mistake,” he said. "Typo."
But according to staff members, the friendly customer assured them it was no joke.
Staff members at the restaurant split the night's tips evenly, but the eight servers working that evening wanted to extend the gift of generosity to the cooks, too.
McCudden said everybody was incredibly grateful for the customer's kindness, particularly after the pandemic forced more than 110,000 restaurants and bars to shut their doors in the past year.
“We went up and we thanked him,” McCudden said. “It’s just been a really rough year for all of us. For someone to do something like that really restored my faith in humanity."
