Lenoir restaurant goes viral on social media following customer’s belated tip
LENOIR, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Lenoir restaurant is gaining social media attention after a customer went out of his way to ensure his server got her tip.
That customer, who dined at Side Street Pour House on Dec. 30, took his signed receipt with him, leaving his server without her tip.
“I thought, ‘Well, I guess they took it with them,’” recalls server Hope Cline. “It happens sometimes. It’s OK.”
The man realized his mistake days later when he checked his bank statement and noticed the charge from the downtown restaurant was less than expected. He decided to make it right by sending a letter to the restaurant explaining his mistake, as well as a $20 cash tip.
It closes with:
“That was no way for either of us to end 2023. Here’s to a fresh start.”
“I was not expecting that,” said Cline. “I was like, ‘There are good people in the world who like their servers and make sure they get what they deserve.’”
The restaurant’s Facebook post highlighting the man’s kindness has been shared more than 2,000 times.
In a time when tipping has sometimes become a controversial endeavor, the Side Street’s employees were taken aback by the kind gesture.
General Manager Angie Rash said her faith in humanity was restored.
“In today’s world, you hear a lot of negativity and sad and depressing things,” said Rush. “To see something like that, it was just like, wow. There are still really honest, nice people.”
Managers at Side Street, on North Main Street in Lenoir, said they sent a letter back to the man, thanking him for his kindness with a gift card to come back to the restaurant to visit.
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