Warm welcome back: Estero waitress gets $500 tip

A waitress at an Estero restaurant got a warm welcome back to work: a $500 tip!

A family left Emi Tomey the big thank-you at Rodizio Grill.

Tomey said she was clearing her table after customers came and couldn’t believe what she saw.

“I thought it was a mistake, like 50, but no, it was 500.”

The money was left with a note that said “Welcome back to work. You all are essential to us.”

The gesture not only helped Tomey, but all of her coworkers.

“We share our tips. It’s essential for all of us – the bussers, servers and bartenders.”

It wasn’t the money that touched their hearts.

“Most  important to us was the message from our guest because they tell us that we are a special part of the community.”

Tomey’s manager, Bruno Scalco, said it has been a hard few months for everyone.

“It was good to see people that are good and they understand the situation when the servers lose their job, and they didn’t have hours,” Scalco said.

They want to say thank you to everyone who has been so generous to them during the trying time.

“We want to tell that family thank you very much,” Tomey said.

The employees said the family who left the generous tip didn’t want any attention; the tip wasn’t even noticed until the family had left.