Couple gives Houston waiter $5,000 tip

  

HOUSTON -- While most people had three days off this weekend for Memorial Day, one waiter is very glad he was working.

That's because one of his customers left a tip of more than 18,000 percent.

"I'm just humbled by it, that's all," D'Amicos Italian Cafe waiter Greg Rubar said.

Rubar still can't believe how his bad luck turned into good fortune.

"I think it was three or four weeks ago, it was a Friday night, it was raining really hard," he said.

Rubar was heading home a few weeks ago when high water ruined his car.

"The way I work, hours I work, it was very hard to take the bus, I was taking a cab a lot," he said.

Rubar has worked at D'Amicos for 16 years and one couple in particular have become very good customers over the past eight years. Rubar told them about his car problem but never expected what would happen this past Saturday.

"They just came in and gave me money to buy a car, told me to go buy a car with it," Rubar said.

Those longtime customers gave Rubar an envelope, filled with $5,000 in cash.

"It's enough money to go buy you a nice car. I didn't even look at it. I was hesitant about it, but he said, 'No you take it and buy you a car!'" Rubar said. "People can be generous, you know? They told me they felt like I deserved this."

Rubar says no one has ever done anything like this for him. His boss is overwhelmed at the generosity of the two customers.

"And also that we have staff that our customers feel so close to that they could willingly and wantingly do something like that for them," the restaurant's VP Brina D'Amicos said.

Rubar says another customer is helping him select a used vehicle to buy. He also has a message for his two special friends.

"Thank you very, very much. I mean I did need it and I'm gonna buy a car with it; that's what that money's gonna go to -- every cent," he said.

The two customers wish to remain anonymous. Rubar has not seen them since they gave him the money. Rubar says he plans to get his new vehicle soon.

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