An anonymous tipper has been leaving hundreds and thousands of dollars of tips in various locations across the United States.
The first generous tip was given in Utah in mid-August of this past year. The Huffington Post reported a $5,000 tip left on a $214.75 bill at Brewskis Bar and a $1,000 tip left on a $49 bill at Alleged Bar. The identity of the generous tipper remains a mystery.
A few weeks later, in early September, $3,000, $5,000 and $7,000 tips were left at various bars in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ABC News reports that the bills and tips were paid using an AMEX Centurion Card, with “@tipsforjesus” written on the receipt. The anonymous tipper takes credit for these tips through an Instagram account with the username “tipsforjesus.” The anonymous tipper posts images of receipts showing proof of large tips, many times including the lucky waiter or waitress who received that tip. The account later took credit for the earlier tips in Utah by posting an image of an article reporting the incident, with the caption “#tipsforjesus.”
On Christmas Eve, the mysterious benefactor even encouraged others to leave generous tips by posting an image and caption saying, “Working Christmas Eve sucks, right? Join @tipsforjesus and make it awesome for your server. #ProjectChristmasEve.”
The tipper has continued to publicize large tips; one of the account’s most recent posts, given on January 17, shared an image of a receipt boasting a $3000 tip on a $147.14 bill at Roka Akor, a restaurant located in San Francisco. The caption credits a local newspaper for the image, writing, “Thanks to the SFGate for the photo, lost ours!”
To this day, the account has 75 posts and over 70,000 followers. Aruj Dhawan, a waiter at Bo’s Kitchen in New York, is one of the many recipeints of these generous tips. When asked by the online New York Post about his reaction to the tip, he shared, “A stranger comes in and drops a thousand dollars. . .I was just really thankful.”
