'Until We See You Again' | Customer Leaves $1,000 Tip At Mount Airy Inn On Day Maryland Restaurants Closed Due To Coronavirus
MOUNT AIRY, Md. (WJZ) -- A generous customer left a sizeable tip for servers at the Mount Airy Inn Monday as that restaurant and others across Maryland prepared to close their doors due to the coronavirus.
Jesse Windsor, who works at the restaurant, said the staff was getting ready to close the dining room on Monday after Gov. Larry Hogan ordered restaurants and bars to close amid the coronavirus pandemic when the frequent diner decided to do something special.
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Instead of leaving the standard 20 percent tip, which on their $68.68 order would have amounted to $13.74, the customer left a whopping $1,000 tip!
"For Kirsten and Brett. Until we see you again!" the customer wrote.
"I was blown away," Brett Booth, one of the two servers who split the tip, said. "I've never seen anything like that but really, it means a lot to us, especially right now."
Booth said he will be putting the money to good use.
"For me, that covers my part of my rent," he said. "That at least ensures I have a month covered."
Chris Beck, Owner of Mount Airy Inn, said he's never seen a tip like that before, but it doesn't entirely surprise him.
"The staff here at the Inn, we're a family and we have a lot of regulars that are a part of that family," Beck said. "This couple, they come in all the time, they're some of our favorites, [even] before this incredible act of generosity."
The $1,000 tip works out to around 1,456 percent gratuity on the order.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.