One of my first jobs was as a busboy at a little restaurant in Murray, Utah, called the Amber Restaurant. I only worked there for a few weeks, and I was barely 16 years old, but I always dreamed that one night someone would leave us a
monster tip that the waitress would share with me.
Over the years, I've left an occasional large tip, usually either because my football team just won and I was in a great mood, or if the server just went above and beyond and wanted to show my appreciation. It always feels so good to do that and always puts me in the best mood. I often wonder why we don't do this more often?
We know that Covid and the pandemic's lockdowns have hit restaurants and the workers at those restaurants the hardest. More and more restaurants are closing by the day, and many will never come back. I am a part-owner of a Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas called Mas, Por Favor, and we opened our doors on January 24 last year. So I have seen first hand how shutting down the economy has affected the restaurant business.
I was on Facebook a few weeks back and watched a video of a group of friends that all went to breakfast. They got together with the waitress at the end of their meal and explained that they had all chipped in $100 for the tip. They left the waitress about $600 and left her entirely in tears from her gratitude.
Simultaneously I had been following Dave Portnoy and been watching what he is doing for small businesses and restaurants. His Barstool fund has raised over $30 million from strangers to help support other strangers. This is America and what our country is genuinely all about.
Because this fund already existed to help the restaurants and restaurant owners, I decided to start something to support these restaurants' workers. Using the idea I saw on Facebook from my friend Rob Aubrey, I decided to launch the "100 Dollar Dinner Club!"
I committed to getting a group of people together at least once per week with the intention of networking and supporting a local restaurant that has been hit hard by Covid and delivering a massive tip to the servers.
The price of admission is $100 per person, plus everyone pays for their meal. The money is collected and delivered at the end to the server or servers that wait on our tables.
More than the money, which can be life-changing, this act of charity is a way for us to show our restaurant neighbors that they are seen, loved, and essential.
The best part is the emotions everyone at the event gets to feel and enjoy. There are no rules or restrictions on this idea, and we hope you will be inspired and choose to share the love.
