Within 24 hours, two waitresses in the Syracuse area were stunned as they picked out what looked like ordinary breakfast items.
Each time, the man and woman ordered modest meals. Each time the bill was paid. And each time, the couple left behind a sealed envelope with a simple message written on the outside: “Happy holidays.”
Inside were 10 crisp $100 bills.
None of the guests seemed to know the couple. They left quietly, suddenly, and were gone before the servers realized what had happened.
First stop was Tuesday morning at Dee’s Diner. The second came today – Christmas Day – at Mother’s Cupboard on James Street.
At 7:18 a.m. Tuesday, Joyce Chapman handed a check to a couple sitting at Dee’s Diner on Route 11 in Mattydale Plaza. Chapman has worked at Dee’s for 20 years, and she said she’s never seen them.
“They didn’t say anything special,” Chapman said. “I mean they were nice enough. They just had a normal breakfast.”
The bill came to $28.62 for the bacon, coffee and omelette breakfast special.
When the couple left, Chapman opened the envelope, quickly closed it, then opened it again.
“I’m still in shock,” Chapman said. “I don’t even know who they are to thank you. They just disappeared.”
Chapman immediately tried to give some of the money to owner Andrea Agostini, who refused.
“I told Andrea I had to do something,” Chapman said. “I wanted to pass it on.
Sitting nearby were the owners of Big MaMa’s Cheesecake. After a rough start to the day, they stopped for breakfast. Their shop was broken into around 2.30am. A cash register was stolen and windows were broken.
“I said, ‘I know today was rough. I’ll buy you guys some breakfast,'” Chapman recalled. “I had to do something.
They refused and told her to keep it and enjoy Christmas.
Chapman said she plans to share it with another waitress who couldn’t be there Tuesday because the waitress was taking care of her sick mother.
“I think it’s great that there are still people out there who care,” she said. “Everybody’s just trying to survive. So I think paying it forward will be good.”
Longtime customer Dave Hannahan saw Chapman crying. He too declined her offer to buy him breakfast. “You know all the charity work this restaurant does? You should see the amount of school supplies they collect for the neighborhood kids,” he said. “He deserves it more than you’ll ever know.
Less than 24 hours later, the same thing happened again.
This morning at Mother’s Cupboard, Patricia Yager was the only server in the small dining room at capacity. Among the 32 customers was a couple who kept to themselves. The guy had a giant blueberry pancake and bacon, the wife ordered two eggs over easy, bacon and home fries.
By 7:35 they were gone. They handed Yager an envelope as they left. The waitress slipped it behind the order book and refilled each coffee mug on the spot. Only after 25 minutes did she finally go to the cash register and open the envelope.
“I just saw a lot of money inside. I didn’t bother to count it because I had to keep up with everyone’s order,” she said. “I don’t know what to say. I honestly don’t.”
Yager, who has served at Mother’s for 11 years, is traveling to Tennessee next week to visit family. She plans to use the extra money to buy gifts for others.
“The customers here have always been great. I mean, that’s why I love this place,” she said. “But this is amazing. Wow. There are good people in this world.”
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