A Waitress Looked At The Tip Her 'Familiar' Customer Left And Immediately Considered Quitting

It was quite the way to start the year! The incident took place in St. Charles, Illinois, as folks tucked into their meals at the IHOP. For Bethany, it looked like it’d just be another normal day, at a time when some aspects of her life were far from stable. Yes, things were tough for the local waitress.

Prior to the summer of 2019, Bethany wasn’t an Illinois resident. Instead, she had a home in Florida with her young son. But the single parent decided to make the switch when the warmer months rolled in, eyeing a change in scenery. As for work, she boasted a lot of experience in a certain field.

Yep, Bethany had plied her trade as a waitress for well over two decades by that stage. So, she certainly had an advantage when applying for the role at the St. Charles IHOP in the fall of 2019! While she got the job, though, her living situation was a little less clear cut, as we’re about to find out.

After leaving Florida, Bethany and her kid were invited to stay with some relatives in Illinois — an offer they welcomed. That’s where the pair remained for the next few months, without a place of their own to call home. Yet the experienced server looked to change that towards the end of December 2019.

At that point, Bethany found a condo on the market that suited her needs. Great news, right? She went on to ink the tenancy agreement just before the year ended, using her cash reserves to secure the contract. But unfortunately, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the mom.

Bethany went into more detail on that front during an interview with ABC7 Chicago in January 2020. “I got my key on Monday, and I have absolutely nothing to move in with,” the IHOP waitress said. “I have not a dish.” Oh boy. And her words didn’t end there, either.

And in another interview with People magazine, Bethany outlined precisely how tight her finances were at the time, especially after securing the condo. Speaking in January 2020, she noted, “I just moved into an apartment. I’m a single mother — by myself with my son. So, I struggle every day to make ends meet.”

Sounds tough, wouldn’t you agree? Anyway, that brings us back to Bethany’s New Year’s Day shift in 2020. Given what we know now, the work must’ve come as something of a relief. After all, if ever she needed an income, it was then! Yet no one could’ve predicted what eventually happened in the ensuing hours.

So, let’s set the scene. It was apparently pretty busy at the St. Charles IHOP, which kept Bethany on her toes. She didn’t have to look far to find a customer in need. But then, a strange hush washed over the place. Why? Well, a familiar face strolled through the doors as part of a group.

The guy grabbed a table along with his clan, which drew even more attention from the other patrons. Unsurprisingly, Bethany was curious to know what all the fuss was about, so she took a peek at the new arrivals. It didn’t immediately sink in, though — surely that couldn’t be who she thought it was?

Yet as Bethany walked over to serve the group, her suspicions were quickly confirmed. Speaking to NBC Chicago in January 2020, the single mom recalled, “As soon as he opened his mouth, I knew who he was. I didn’t freak out at the table. I went to the bathroom and I freaked out.”

As we mentioned earlier, Bethany had a history with this recognizable customer. And it spanned years. Keeping that in mind, there was only one person the waitress wanted to speak to when she entered that bathroom in a fit of excitement. She looked back on this moment with ABC7 Chicago.

“I freaked out and called my mother in the bathroom,” Bethany told the station. “My mother sat in line for three to four hours for tickets for me to go see him when I was a kid. I went to two of his concerts, and he looked at me twice. I know he looked at me. I know he did!”

So what happened next? Did Bethany regain her composure in the bathroom? Well, if she was still struggling, her boss tried to get her back on the right path. Yes, Gabriela Rivera, who was the manager at that IHOP restaurant at the time, had some words of advice for the experienced waitress.

Rivera told ABC7 Chicago, “[Bethany] is actually the one who brought it to my attention. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s awesome. Let’s take a breath, take it easy, and treat him like everybody else.’” Wise words, wouldn’t you say? And Bethany instantly heeded them when she returned to the table.

Regardless of her internal jitters, Bethany refused to let on how much she adored this guy. It couldn’t have been easy, but she still managed to pull it off successfully and remain professional. Good for her! And during such a tricky period in her life, this made for a pretty welcome distraction.

After waiting on the famous customer and his group, Bethany kept tabs on the table like she would’ve done normally. Then, once they’d finished, the IHOP worker handed them their check. So it looked like the highlight of her New Year’s Day shift was coming to a close. Yet that wasn’t the case.

You see, when the guy sorted out the check, he had something to say to Bethany before leaving the IHOP. Specifically, he shared some intriguing instructions with the veteran waitress. What were they? Well, she shed a bit more light on that moment during her chat with People in January 2020.

“I served them the best I could do,” Bethany informed the magazine. “He folded up the receipt and he gave it to me, and told me not to open it until he left. I said, ‘Okay, thank you guys, come again. I’ll take care of you again.’ Then I opened it, and I almost fell to the floor.”

That’s some reaction — but what did it say? Well, the customer had noted down the tip he was leaving for Bethany. And it was a big one. Yep, she was going to get $2,020. No joke, folks! That’s unbelievable, right? Especially knowing the single mom’s financial situation at the time.

It was a wonderful gesture by the mystery man. Speaking of which, we’ve been keeping you in suspense for long enough — so who was it? The famous face in question was the one and only Donnie Wahlberg. He’s Mark Wahlberg’s older brother, in case you didn’t know. And the guy’s enjoyed quite the career.

Wahlberg’s rise to superstardom began when he was just a teenager. During the mid-1980s the youngster showed off his musical talents at a tryout, which was overseen by Maurice Starr — the famed producer. Starr loved what he saw, and quickly offered Wahlberg a spot in a new band. That group? New Kids on the Block.

From there, Wahlberg enjoyed tremendous success with the band. Their second and third records both climbed to the top of the Billboard rankings, indicating that his future lay in the music business. But in 1994 it all came to an end. New Kids on the Block were done. The performer wasn’t, though.

Instead, Wahlberg decided to try his hand at acting. He made his big screen bow in 1996’s Bullet, before following that up with Ransom the same year. Since then, the versatile actor has popped up in a bunch of memorable projects. For instance, who can forget his chilling turn in the opening scene of The Sixth Sense?

Wahlberg was also a mainstay in the classic mini-series Band of Brothers, as well as featuring in three of the Saw sequels. From 2010 onwards, though, most of his acting efforts have been focused on the television show Blue Bloods. He’s starred in more than 250 episodes across the past decade or so.

As for Wahlberg’s personal life, he tied the knot back in 1999 with a woman named Kim Fey. They eventually split nearly a decade later, but the actor didn’t have to wait long to find love again. Yep, he began a relationship with television star Jenny McCarthy during 2013. The pair then married the following year.

That’s whom Wahlberg was with at the IHOP on New Year’s Day in 2020. Anyway, we’ve still got a burning question: why did the famous performer leave such a massive tip at the restaurant? Was it a random act of generosity? Or was there more to it? The answer might surprise you, folks.

As it turns out, a heart-warming craze emerged at the beginning of that year. It was referred to as the “2020 Tip Challenge.” The idea came to life in Michigan after a customer left a $2,020 gratuity for their Thunder Bay River Restaurant waitress. From there, Wahlberg then followed suit.

And Wahlberg wasn’t the only famous face to embrace the challenge. During that first week of January, Harry Styles also stepped up with a $2,020 tip while relaxing in Anguilla. Apparently, he was joined by both Adele and James Corden on that holiday. Talk about a star-studded collection of names!

Plus, if you thought Wahlberg would only do this once, you’d be sorely mistaken. Incredibly, he took part in the challenge again in November 2020. On that occasion, the actor was eating at Plymouth’s Marshland establishment in Massachusetts. Waitress Denise Andrews was the lucky recipient of the $2,020 that day.

Looking back on the gesture, the proprietor spoke with People in November 2020. His name’s Marty Finch. According to him, Wahlberg wasn’t a stranger to the eatery. Finch told the magazine, “Donnie has been here before in the past and he always asks for [Denise].”

“[Wahlberg] had his normal order: steak tips with some grilled asparagus and poached eggs,” Finch continued. “[Denise] always knows what he wants. When he left he just said, ‘Denise, you’re all set. The payment is on the table.’ She always says he’s a very good tipper anyway, but her jaw dropped — to say the least — when she saw that amount of tip.”

You can hardly blame Denise for that reaction! Finch then added, “Denise was very generous. She tipped out her fellow wait-staff and the guys in the kitchen, and she actually donated, too. She’s working on getting two families turkey meals during the holidays. Donnie said to pass it on, to keep this positive stuff going, so she’s trying to do that as well.”

But here’s the thing, folks. While the challenge seemed to embolden people to be more generous at restaurants, Wahlberg was already like that prior to 2020. For example, he made the news twice in 2017 following trips to two different Waffle Houses. The wait-staff were blown away on both occasions.

The first incident took place during the summer of 2017. Wahlberg went for breakfast at a Maryland Waffle House, with one of the workers noting what happened next. Jessica Reed informed People, “There were two servers and a cook, and he left a $500 tip for the three of them to split. They took a picture together and he was apparently really awesome.”

Then, just a week or so later, he left an even bigger tip for the evening workers at a North Carolina Waffle House. Yep, the star handed them $2,000 to split among the group. Wow! it’s such a cool gesture, wouldn’t you agree? Not all celebrities are like that, after all.

Going back to the New Year’s Day tip, though, we can’t help but wonder — how did Bethany respond? Well, the waitress told People, “I just started crying. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, who does that? It was a blessing. Now I can buy furniture and put some money in the bank, and make sure my son is good.”

Yes, Bethany’s new apartment would be empty no more, thanks to Wahlberg’s kind act. And guess what, folks? There was one last twist in store. You see, a little while later, the IHOP’s telephone rang. The single mom’s beloved celeb was on the other end, and he wanted to talk with her.

“Donnie called me at the restaurant and I spoke to him,” Bethany explained. “I really wanted to thank him and Jenny, because they don’t even understand what they did for me. God put him there for a reason for me, and I know that. It’s the greatest thing to ever happen in my life.”