Bartender grateful for $1,000 tip left on bar
DRYDEN, Mich. (WJRT) — A Lapeer County, Michigan, bartender is grateful for the customers who left a $1,000 tip on an average meal.
Dawn Isken has worked at Pine House Kitchen and Bar in Dryden since June to help support her 12-year-old and 16-year-old grandsons, who she is raising.
On Saturday, a couple of men came to the eatery and sat at the bar for a meal. Isken said they all got to talking and three hours had passed before she knew it.
Before the men left, one of them told Isken they wanted to give something for her and the boys. He started laying $100 bills on the bar in front of her — 10 in all.
“I was just in shock,” Isken said. “I politely declined and said, ‘No I can’t accept this.’”
But, the man insisted she keep the money.
“So, then I said, ‘OK, OK, it’s going into the boys’ bank account,’” Isken said. “College funds and cars are not cheap. They’re expensive.”
She said the gift goes beyond just the cash.
“There’s always expenses with children, but it was more of the gesture of someone taking the time to find out a little bit about me,” Isken said. “And there’s just good people in humanity still going on in the world.”
The men left an additional $200 gift for Dryden High School that night because the restaurant was having a fundraiser