Two Coast servers share $3,500 tip as Christmas elves strike for third straight year
A surprise Christmas bonus for two Coast waiters came Thursday morning when a group of friends and business associates treated them to a combined $3,500 holiday tip.
Instead of the typical $3 or $4 per person for a breakfast tip, each of the 26 people who came to breakfast at Lazy Oak Bistreaux on Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs left $100 or more.
Others who couldn’t attend chipped in their share to boost the total.
At the end of the meal, the servers were presented with one big tip.
“It’s very big for us,” said Joey Debenport of Bay St. Louis, one of the two servers. He’s never had that big a tip — “nowhere near” — in the nearly 20 years he worked in restaurants.
He went on to tell the group their generosity and support is even more important to the other server, Mallory Dyson of Biloxi.
“She’s actually going to start her PhD program,” he said, which brought cheers and applause from the group. Dyson will pursue her PhD at University of Southern Mississippi while continuing to work full time at the restaurant, he said.
Debenport said they knew a big group was coming to breakfast.
“We thought it was maybe a Christmas get-together for a business or something,” he said. “We both were totally caught off-guard.”
Debenport said it’s hard to put into words what the money did for them financially at this time of the year and spiritually in support for them and others in the industry.
“You just never know what that server woke up to this morning in their personal life,” he said, and they come to work and smile and serve the public.
This is the third time the anonymous Christmas elves surprised servers just before Christmas.
Last year two servers were tipped $3,400 by the group, who gathered for breakfast at Port City Cafe in Biloxi.
In 2021, the 20 people who attended left a $2,200 tip for their waitress at Phoenicia in Ocean Springs. She in turn shared a portion with the other staff.
The tradition started with an idea of joining efforts to make a big Christmas impact for one or two people.
It’s turned out to be more. In addition to the holiday windfall for the servers, it’s a holiday celebration for the group and a boost in business for the restaurant chosen to host the event each year.
Debenport says he hopes the generosity of this group starts a trend and people will be inspired to leave a generous tip and show their support to restaurant staff all across the Coast.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 3:00 PM.
