A mysterious tipper has been leaving thousands of dollars for servers, bartenders, and golf caddies across the country with little clue to his/her/their identity other than the handle @TipsForJesus scrawled in pen on the receipts. Their exploits are detailed on the TipsForJesus Instagram account, including many photos of the lucky servers posing with their signed receipts. Tips include several in Ann Arbor, Michigan ($3,000 at Tio's Mexican Cafe, $2,000 at the Alley Bar), a few in Chicago ($3,000 at the Boundary, $5,000 at Paris Club), and a whole bunch in Los Angles ($1,000 at Fig & Olive, $10,000 at the Hungry Cat, $500 at Jumbo's Clown Room). TipsForJesus is also taking credit for a spree of big tips left at Ogden, Utah area restaurants back in August, although those receipts were not labeled TipsForJesus.
It's unclear who is behind these tips, which the Daily Dot says amount to "more than $54,000" so far. It does seem to be possibly more than one person: the Instagram account uses the word "we" often, and before they recently switched to a TipsForJesus stamp for the receipts, the username was scrawled in more than one handwriting. TipsForJesus seems to be a college football fan, occasionally lining up with various football games (at Michigan and Notre Dame). A few also bear USC's slogan of "Fight On."
That last trip actually proved somewhat controversial, as the server at a Notre Dame-area bar commented on the Instagram that she did not receive her tip payment. TipsForJesus later Instagrammed a photo of their Amex statement proving the charge went through; no word yet one whether the server received the money.
Behold what TipsForJesus has been up to:
· TipsFor Jesus [Instagram]
· This secret tipper is leaving thousands of dollars all over the country [Daily Dot]
· All Tips Coverage on Eater [-E-]