Pay it forward: Act of kindness for cafe server

Nov 30, 2020

‘Tis the season for giving, as the end of a very difficult year approaches.

One server at Village Cafe on State Road posted a receipt to Facebook in the hopes of reaching someone she called her “Secret Santa” to thank him for a lovely early gift: a 671% tip to help pay for her tire troubles.

Resident Tracy Rappa said that just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, a gentleman had overheard her telling a regular customer that she needed to replace another tire — the second this year — and was considering getting them all done if the price was right

The first tire needed replacing while she was out of work during the coronavirus lockdown, she explained, and she was waiting on a call to confirm the cost of switching out the others. 

“After [the gentleman] left I found this very generous tip,” she said. The man had left her a $50 tip on a $7.45 bill, with a note scribbled in the margin reading “for your tires”.

“Thank you,” Rappa wrote in a message to her anonymous sponsor. “I just wanted to let everyone know how lucky we are to have the best customers in the world!”

Rappa said that she’s been working at the Route 6 breakfast restaurant for 20 years, and has stayed because of the colleagues and customers that have become friends and family.

“Kids that I used to carry around the restaurant have grown up and I’ve been to their graduations and even weddings,” she said. “We truly do have the best customers.”