A Massachusetts server was in for a surprise while closing out her last table on Saturday night.
Jennifer Navaria was finishing her shift around 10:30 p.m. and handed off the bill to her last customer of the evening.
That customer just so happened to be Ernie Boch Jr., CEO of billion-dollar business Boch Enterprises.
When she went to pick up the receipt, she was floored to find he had left a very generous tip of US$5,000.
READ MORE: 2020 tip challenge — Donnie Wahlberg leaves $2,020 for IHOP server
The server shared a photo of the bill, showing the total paid amount of $5,157.56. At the top of the slip of paper, Boch, referring to actor Donnie Wahlberg, wrote: “Donnie, your move.”
“Thank you Ernie Boch for your amazing generosity,” Navaria captioned the photo. “You certainly made a job I really enjoy that much better.”
She also included the hashtag #2020tipchallenge, which received a lot of attention after Wahlberg left a $2,020 tip on a $78 IHOP bill in Illinois.
His wife, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, shared a photo of the receipt on Twitter, writing: “@DonnieWahlberg starting 2020 off like the amazing man he is.”
The New Kids on the Block star called for others to be generous with their money this year if they can.
Navaria couldn’t believe her eyes when she figured out how much the tip actually was.
“I was shaking. And it was, like, really unbelievable,” Navaria told the station. “It’s huge. You see this happening but you would never think of it happening to you.”
READ MORE: Nashville musician gets whopping $10K tip after chance performance
Boch’s act of kindness was inspired by his friend, but he hopes it extends well beyond just the two of them.
“Who’s making the next move? Who’s it going to be? Who’s going to help us out?” Boch told the news station, adding about the next tip that “it’s got to be more than me. I was more than Donnie; it’s got to be more than me. Let’s keep it going.”
Though Navaria isn’t settled on how she’s going to spend the money, she said she’ll probably use it to pay off some bills and donate a portion to an animal shelter.
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