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A big-spending Texan celebrated the re-opening of an Austin steakhouse by paying double for his family’s dinner — and then left $1,300 in tips, according to a report Monday.
The unidentified eater visited Bull & The Frog, a tapas-style restaurant, following the expiration of the Lone Star State’s coronavirus stay-at-home order, CNN said.
The man and his kin ordered with abandon, and chowed down on grub that included a filet mignon, seared scallops and grilled churrasco steak.
But when the hefty $337 bill arrived, he asked to be charged twice that amount, confounding waiter Josh Pikoff, 18, and leading owner David Fernandez to visit the table.
“He said, ‘Charge me double for everything’ and I asked, ‘Are you sure?’ ” Fernandez told CNN.
“He said, ‘Yes.’ ”
But the deep-pocketed customer wasn’t finished yet, tacking on a $300 tip for Pickoff and another $1,000 “for the house,” a photo of the receipt shows.
The total tab came to $2,029.
Pickoff told CNN that the man, a repeat customer, “said that he was extremely grateful that we were open and putting ourselves at risk to serve the community.”
Fernandez said the Friday incident was a shot in the arm for his business, which was barely five months old when he had to shut it down on St. Patrick’s Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A skeleton staff kept the restaurant going with takeout and delivery orders, leaving it “scraping for survival, literally from payroll to payroll,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez also said the customer’s largesse wouldn’t be forgotten should he return.
The man’s act of generosity followed a similar incident in which a diner left a $9,400 tip — including $1,900 in cash — on a $90.12 bill at Irma’s Southwest Grill in Houston on March 16, ahead of a mandatory shutdown.
A note on the receipt said, “Hold tip to pay your guys.”



