Customer leaves $600 Christmas tip in Tontitown

TONTITOWN — The spirit of Christmas vanquished the specter of covid-19 for six employees of a restaurant when a diner left each a $100 tip Tuesday.

Husband and wife team Doug and Pauline Allen own and operate Jose’s Bar and Grill.

Pauline Allen said the man, who left the $600 tip on a $17.70 bill, has been to the restaurant before and doesn’t want any publicity.

“He’s just a regular working class guy,” Pauline Allen said. “He works two jobs. Just a regular guy, not a rich guy. He said his boss had given him a $50 bonus for Christmas. He said he knows some of the things Jose’s has done trying to help people in the community and he told me to run his credit card for $600 over the amount. ‘I just want to pay it forward,’ he told me. It made me cry.”

Allen said the customer asked her to divide the tip among the six employees who were working when he was having lunch. The employees said the tip will help them make ends meet, provide money for medical bills and Christmas gifts for their children

Alex Roddey is one of the staff who shared in the gift. A single mother with four children, Roddey said the extra cash will go toward gifts for her kids. She said her daughter loves the movie “Frozen,” and her sons love Legos. They will all get something extra now.

“I am very thankful,” Roddey said. “It’s been a struggle, especially because of covid. It’s a blessing to have people come in and spread that love. It really does go a long way.”

Pauline Allen said the restaurant has tried to help people in the community who have been struggling through the pandemic. She said the business has provided food baskets and groceries.

Doug Allen said 2020 has been difficult for everyone and hard on the restaurant business in particular. Restaurants closed in March after a health emergency was declared statewide and nationally. They were allowed

to open, but with limitations on the number of customers permitted inside.

“Obviously, it’s not easy being throttled down, and just as obviously if the restaurant is throttled down the staff is throttled down,” Doug Allen said. “To get someone to give something like this for the staff is a great morale boost. We’ve had this happen a few times, but this is the largest I’ve seen. The timing was great.”