Last year, the family-owned restaurant El Nuevo Mexico in Bastrop, Texas, was on the receiving end of a pair of extraordinary displays of generosity from one of their regular customers. Robert and his mother would dine at the restaurant every Sunday. One day last summer, he came into El Nuevo Mexico, and picked up the tab for the entire restaurant. Then to top that off, he left a $10,000 tip for the staff!
For the last eight years, Denise Ruiz has been a server at El Nuevo Mexico. Over those years, she became friends with Robert and his mother and she was their favorite server. She was heartbroken to learn that Robert’s mother passed away the day after he left the giant tip. One day Denise was sharing with him how her adult son was battling cancer and when she went to close out his tab, she realized he’d done it again. He left her a $10,000 tip and told her he wanted her to go on a trip with her son.
For the patrons and staff at El Nuevo Mexico, what they share is more like a family relationship than a business one. Ruiz was grateful for what Robert did and continues to do for his friends at the restaurant, and inspired by his act of kindness, she decided to pay it forward and split her big tip with her coworkers. “You bless others,” Ruiz says, “And it goes around, and it goes around.”
Source: CBS AUSTIN