Loyal customer tips $2,021 on New Year’s Day order to help restaurant staff amid pandemic
One of Miami Squeeze’s loyal customers tipped $2,021 on her New Year’s Day order at Miami Squeeze, a North Miami Beach juice bar and health food restaurant that has struggled during the pandemic.
One of Miami Squeeze’s loyal customers strolled in around 10 a.m. New Year’s Day and ordered her usual breakfast with some to-go: three avocado toasts with eggs and three smoothies.
Her total was $71.84, but she left a note on the tab along with an exponentially larger total: “Happy New Year!!! Always love coming here.”
It took the staff a few moments to realize her added tip wasn’t $20.21, but in fact $2,021, enough to tip almost $100 for each of the 22 workers at the family owned North Miami
Beach juice bar and health food restaurant.
“That is the biggest tip we’ve ever gotten by far,” said Kelly Amar, whose parents have owned and operated Miami Squeeze for about 35 years. “This blows out anything we’ve ever gotten.”
Amar said the generous tipper frequents Miami Squeeze once or twice a week. She was OK with the eatery spreading the good news, but asked to leave her name out of it. Amar said the woman mentioned that the tip was for everyone, and the restaurant followed her wishes.
“We were not expecting
this at all,” Amar said. “We said, ‘Are you sure?’ She said ‘Yes, thank you. I love this place, I’m so happy to do this for you.’ It was a really special moment.”
Amar is 23 and works along with her parents and two brothers at Miami Squeeze, handling the restaurant’s marketing.
Feeling the squeeze from the shutdowns triggered by COVID-19, Miami Squeeze had to lay off a few workers at the onset of the pandemic. Revenue was sliced in half. Amar and her family worked the kitchen, juice room and the phones taking pick-up and delivery orders from customers.
Business has since picked up, and they’ve been able to hire the workers back, though they’re still operating 30% to 40% under what they would normally make. They are now planning on opening a new location in Midtown.
“The pandemic was obviously very hard on everyone, not just us but every business around,” Amar said. “We’ve been able to pick back up, but I don’t think we’ll ever be back to where we were at one point.”
Miami Squeeze uploaded a photo of the receipt on the restaurant’s Instagram account, lauding the supportive guest.
“She just wanted to say thank you to us because as you know this past year has been very hectic,” Amar said. “This was her way of giving back and this really helps us because this has been a really hard year for all of us. It’s a great thank you for all of us.”