COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Coaches Bar & Grille had a pretty good crowd Sunday when Gov. Mike DeWine announced dining-in at restaurants and bars would be banned due to coronavirus concerns.
The announcement stunned owner Patrick "Benny" Leonard and those among his 13 total employees who were working. "There were tears in the servers' eyes," he said.
One of the regulars got up from his seat after signing his credit card bill for his $25 plus change tab and left.
But he left behind a $2,500 tip and a note instructing his server to split the money with several others.
The discovery "brought tears of joy" to the staff, if "even for a little bit," Leonard said. Those working later voted to split the tip among all the employees.
"It was pretty cool," Leonard said. "You look at what's going on, people fighting for toilet paper. Here's this guy showing the best of humanity."
The donor customer will remain anonymous to protect his privacy, but is known to the servers as a regular who plays trivia. "It's like 'Cheers' here," Leonard said of the bar on Bethel Road.
Coaches Bar & Grille was open Monday but was still waiting on its first carry-out order at 12:30 p.m., Leonard said. He thinks some people still don't understand the governor's order prohibiting dine-in, noting that a member of a group that has played euchre there had called to be sure they could play there and he had to explain to the individual that they could not.
Leonard has decided to pay the patron's tip kindness forward and is currently offering a 15% discount off the bill for carry-out customers as long as the business is able.
