North Side Tavern tipped $5,000 weeks after reopening

Brooklyn Dance, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Mar. 5—North Side Tavern closed in December amid tightening coronavirus restrictions. At the time, Owner Steve Bauer said its reopening date was at the mercy of the pandemic.

Two and a half weeks after the restaurant's mid-February reopening, a Broomfield resident covered everyone's checks and left more than $5,000 in tips.

Bauer said the restaurant has seen steady business since the reopening. On Feb. 26 at about 9 p.m., he said the restaurant was three-quarters full.

"One of my bartenders told me a local, a Broomfield resident decided he wanted to pay for everyone's drinks on the bar top and their dinner bills," Bauer said. "I went to him and I said, 'Are you sure?' He said, 'You're' right. I don't. I want to buy the entire restaurant's tab."

And that's what he did. The buyer also left $100 tips on each server's check and a $5,000 tip on the bar tab. When all was said and done, the buyer paid close to $7,500, Bauer said.

The buyer, who wished to remain anonymous both that night at the restaurant and now after the fact, told Bauer he's been coming to the tavern since it opened and wanted to give back to it.

"He's been in since and still doesn't have any regrets," Bauer added.

After nearly a year of having to make sure guests keep their masks on and practicing social distancing, Bauer said he found himself frustrated with human beings in general.

"Acts like this remind us, along with a few bad ones, there's a lot of good ones," Bauer said. "It restores that faith and makes you want to do more, too. This person has been so generous over the time I've known him, it makes me want to be more generous, too."

While a $5,000 tip is without a doubt the greatest gratuity North Side Tavern has ever seen, Bauer said paying it forward is not uncommon at his restaurant — something he equates to Broomfield's generous community.

"It's happened a lot in this place. (Guests pick up the tabs for) Elderly people, men with a Veteran's cap on ... There's a lot of people wanting to give," he said.