A waitress for Olive Garden in Morehead City, North Carolina, wants to pay it forward after she received a $1,000 tip on a $75 tab.
Kathryn Irwin, who has been working at the restaurant for the past three years, told ABC News she got the generous tip this past Sunday from a family of six.
"After the family left, I didn't even look at the check book right away since we were short-staffed, so I went to help other team members," Irwin said. "When I finally went back to get the book and enter the tip, I first noticed they wrote, 'God bless you,' on the check.'"
Waitress Tipped $1,000 by Her 'Guardian Angel' in Florida Arkansas Waitress Shocked to Get $2,000 Tip on $278 Meal Passenger Leaves Airport Waitress Big Tip to Celebrate Dog's RecoveryThe waitress said she thought the tip was originally $10. She added that the family paid for most of the bill with a $30 gift card, bringing the total to $45 from $75.
"Then I noticed the decimal point on the tip, and I thought, 'No way!'" Irwin said. "I ran to my manger, and he verified it and told me, 'Katy, you did really good this time.'"
Irwin didn't get to thank the family in person but she said she'd like to be able to "hug them and let them know how grateful I am."
The 24-year-old said she's used part of her tip money to pay for an elderly couple's dinner. She also donated some of it to various Salvation Army kettles in the mall.
"As far as other plans, my car is a little bit on the older side, so there's some room to fix things up now," she said. "But most importantly, I want to start college soon. The tip couldn't have come at a more perfect time."