San Antonio Restaurant Owner Pays Server $2K Tip After Backlash

A server at a San Antonio restaurant says she hasn't seen a cent of the $2,000 tip left by a generous diner.

Emily Bauer is a server at Red Hook Seafood and Bar on northwest Loop 410. The restaurant was busy on Sunday, November 29, and Bauer apologized to a couple sitting in her section for the slow service, she told KENS 5.

The unidentified man told Bauer that he understood the delay because he owned restaurants. He asked the server to cancel his order and give him the check for the food and drinks that already arrived.

The couple paid their $69.01 bill and left. When Bauer took the signed receipt from their empty table, she noticed that the couple left her a $2,000 tip with a note that said "Merry Christmas! Keep working hard!"

"I was like wait. I just opened it and started crying. I was like 'Oh my god! My kids! I’m going to spend it all on my kids,'" said Bauer, who has a 2-year-old son and a 5-month-old son.

Unfortunately, Bauer hasn't received her money and doesn't know if she will.

The restaurant's management told Bauer that their system can only process tips up to $500. When coworkers suggested that the restaurant break up the tip into four $500 payments, the restaurant refused.

Bauer is disappointed but grateful for the couple's generosity and wanted to thank them.

"Even though I can’t receive it, thank you. Thank you for having such a big heart. This world is filled of messed up people. It’s like, how did he know I needed that?" she said.

Update: After the Bauer's story was picked up by the media, the restaurant's owner, John Cheng, made the situation right. He wrote Bauer a check for $2,069.01.

Red Hook Seafood and Bar received backlash for the incident, including people placing to-go orders but never picking them up and paying for them. Cheng even received death threats. Restaurant management hopes the community will forgive them.

Photo: Getty Images