Lakeport >> A little extra holiday cheer is being spread around some area restaurants, with owners, managers reporting instances of oversized tips, and even the occasional bill paid in full by kind-hearted strangers out to spread some Christmas time joy.
For instance, on December 11, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen was eating lunch at Jack’s Gaslight Grill with another party. The bill came to a little more than $20, not including the tip, which the chief paid readily. According to Rasmussen, however, the ticket soon came back, returning tip and all.
“The waitress came back and said, ‘Somebody paid your bill.’ I said, ‘really?’ and she said, ‘Yeah, the guy who just left — he paid for everybody in the restaurant.’” Chief Rasmussen estimated there were around ten people in the restaurant at the time. He figured that, at about $10 per person, the mysterious benefactor must have paid out over $100.
Rasmussen also stated that, upon sharing the story with some of his officers, he was advised that a similar incident had occurred the week prior to three officers who were eating lunch at Renee’s Cafe.
Renee’s manager Charity Tucker says she sees this sort of thing regularly at the restaurant.
“It’s an almost every-day occurrence around here. As a matter of fact, just the other day a poor woman was in here and her cat had just passed away. A guy at the next table overheard her talking about it and he picked up her lunch for her,” she said. She also has observed an increase in the amount of tips — and cookies and candy — patrons have been leaving her and the other servers.
“Our regular customers are pretty generous with their tips around Christmas — and goodies; lots and lots of goodies.” She stated they start seeing a lot more “Tens and Twenties” left on the tables, and that trend always starts a week or two before Christmas.
Alex O’Meara of O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company reports seeing a similar increase in the generosity of his clientele, both in tips and in how they’re treating others.
“Our customers have been bringing in larger crowds and footing the bill, kind of a surprise kind of thing,” he said. “Overall people seem to be in a more giving mood.”
Albert Manchaca, owner of Old World Tavern, says the amount of altruism being shown by his customers has been large and impressive.
“We have been seeing extraordinarily large tips,” he said. “If anything we’re seeing that a lot more.” He shared a couple instances where customers left the servers gratuities that far outstripped the cost of the meal.
“Somebody left $26 on a small bill the other day,” he said. “We had a couple who had a meal for $16 and left a $25 tip.” Another customer on December 22 paid his $14 check with a $100 bill. When the server tried to give him his change, he told her “Merry Christmas” and left the restaurant.
“If it’s [the tips] are not generous, it’s extremely generous,” Manchaca said.
