GREENFIELD — Angel Brown was having a bit of a rough morning when she spilled two drinks she was taking to a couple having breakfast at Lincoln Square Pancake House last week.
The longtime server’s day was brightened considerably, however, when the couple left her a $500 tip.
Such a huge tip had been previously unheard of at the downtown Greenfield restaurant, where Brown has worked as a server since it first opened in 2011.
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It happened around 9 a.m. Aug. 13, when the popular breakfast spot was relatively full — as it is most mornings throughout the week.
Longtime manager Estaban King, who was running the cash register, told the couple they must have made a mistake when he saw the tip they wrote in on their $27 receipt. He thought they mistakenly added an extra zero or two.
“They said, ‘No mistake, just tell our server it’s a gift from God,’” recalled King, who was thrilled to see Brown rewarded for her hard work, especially after handling the spilled drinks with grace.
“When I heard about it and heard what they said it brought me to tears,” said Brown, who has worked as a server for the past 20 years.
She was once overjoyed to get a $100 tip while working at a different restaurant, but last week’s $500 tip really blew her away.
While Brown shares a friendly rapport with all her customers — especially her regulars — there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary when she was waiting on the couple.
“They were super nice and super well-mannered, but nothing out of the ordinary. They were the perfect guests, and very appreciative of the fact we were open,” she said.
Since no one on staff recognized the middle-aged couple, Brown assumed they weren’t from this area. King thought they may be regulars at another Lincoln Square restaurant.
“Whoever they are, it’s a super awesome blessing,” said Brown, who plans to use at least some of the $500 to pay it forward and bless others.
She may donate some to the annual Hope over Heroin benefit held at Lincoln Square, or to the development of a local men’s recovery house for those battling drug addiction.
“That to me is a bigger passion than anything — trying to get that men’s recovery house open. There are so many young lives lost every day due to these horrible drugs,” said Brown.
Part of the money will also help cover lost wages next month when she takes time off to spend with her mom, who’s having knee surgery.
At some point, Brown hopes to leave a generous tip for another server somewhere. “I want to be able to just give someone $100 and say ‘thank you,’ because those people work so hard,” she said.
As someone who’s worked every position at Lincoln Square, King was thrilled to see one of the employee’s hard work commended so generously. The entire staff — a close-knit group — shared in Brown’s joy that day, he said.
“Everyone was really excited for Angel. It put everybody in a really great mood, just to know somebody got a tip like that. We had a great day,” King said.
He said those in the food service industry have had to face more difficult customers than usual this year, due to ongoing complaints about safety measures put in place for the coronavirus pandemic. Many complain about being refused service if not wearing a mask, which is state mandated, he said.
“Having something nice like this (tip) just really brightens up your day and keeps you in a good state of mind,” he said. It’s really nice to see some people are not completely affected by the whole COVID-19 thing, and that there are still decent people out there.”
Brown said it’s been especially hard to see some customers giving her boss, Lincoln Square owner Costas Stylianou, a hard time due to rules regarding the virus.
In a time when independent restaurants and even major chains are closing down as a result of COVID, Brown credits her boss with keeping his doors open and enforcing safety rules to keep his staff both employed and safe.
Running a restaurant during a pandemic is no easy task, said Brown. She and her fellow servers have been disheartened to see customers complain to Stylianou about having to wear a mask, and some even bashing him and his restaurants on social media as a result. He also owns Costa’s Grill in Greenfield and another Lincoln Square Pancake House in Fortville.
“People making things easier on him would make (the workplace) a lot better for us. The staff is doing everything we can do to possibly keep our doors open,” she said.
Brown credits her boss for keeping her and her co-workers employed during these unprecedented times.
“I’d like to recognize him for being so nice in a time when so many people are complaining to him. Without him I wouldn’t have a job, and I definitely wouldn’t have gotten that incredible tip,” she said.
