US customer leaves $5,600 tip at restaurant as a gesture of kindness amid pandemic

Niloufar Saleem, Gulf Today

Amid the on-going coronavirus pandemic that has changed lives of so many people, mostly from bad to worse, small gestures of kindness from random people sometimes leaves us filled with hope.

In one such commendable incident, an unknown customer left behind a whopping $5,600 tip at the Souk Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar in Toledo in the US state of Ohio.

The tip was meant for all the staff working at the restaurant in all shifts.

Which meant 28 of them would have it split leaving 200 dollars for each.

Moussa Salloukh, the owner of Souk Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar in Toledo, where the incident took place, took to his social media account to share the bill.

"This really happened. Last night one of our guests left a $5,600 tip to be given to all of our staff, whether they were working that shift or not. It meant each of our 28 staff members received a $200 tip. What an amazing gesture of kindness to my employees," Salloukh wrote in his post dated December 13.

"Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people," he said, adding: "With Covid restrictions and guidelines, that was not going to happen for them this year. So this heartfelt generosity was deeply needed and very appreciated."

Along with the post, Salloukh also attached a photo of the receipt that the customer left behind, showing a one penny food purchase and the handwritten $5,600 tip.