Employees at an Ohio restaurant received a very special Christmas gift when a customer left a $5,600 tip for the entire staff to split.
According to CNN, the guest who left the tip asked the restaurant staffers at Souk Mediterranean Kitchen in Toledo to allow him to remain anonymous. He dined there on December 12 and generously provided the massive tip for all 28 employees — including those who were off that day. Each staff member got to take home $200 after dividing it.
“There was a lot of tears, I’m tearing up now talking about it,” Moussa Salloukh, Souk’s owner and chef, told CNN. “Your restaurant staff becomes your family and everyone cares about each other. I’ve been staying out of the kitchen to give employees hours to get through and put gifts under the tree for their kids, so this was so huge for us,” Salloukh said.
Multiple employees told Salloukh the extra money would help make Christmas possible for their families as they struggle to make ends meet during the pandemic.
“A lot of them felt like someone was looking and watching down on them. It gave us a lot of hope, it was just a beautiful thing to do for 28 strangers you don’t even know,” Salloukh said.
