‘Spontaneous – I Just Decided to Do It’: Mill Valley Resident Leaves $2,000 Tip at Buckeye Roadhouse

In the five days since Bay Area counties issued a shelter in place order that effectively shut down hundreds of businesses and compelled restaurants to transition to take and delivery service only, many restaurant workers have found themselves in a scary, tumultuous moment of job insecurity.

But the tumult is bringing out the best in some customers, with one Mill Valley resident leaving a $2,000 tip for staff at Buckeye Roadhouse last week, according to ABC-7. 

Last Friday, Robert Goddard, a regular customer, left a $2,000 tip on his lunch bill. Buckeye co-owner Peter Schumacher, told ABC-7 that he was completely taken aback, noting that he couldn’t believe the number at first. “I said is this $200 or $2,000? And he said no, it’s $2,000. Some people almost cried when I split up the tip that night among the staff,” Schumacher told ABC-7, noting that 25 staff members including dishwashers, servers and bussers were able to get $80 each.

“Spontaneous, I just decided to do it,” Goddard says. “It was my way of plugging into the community to a place that means a lot to us.”

Schumacher says he hopes others follow Goddard’s lead. “If people want to make sure their favorite places are around, we need the support now. So order out, buy some gift cards, do what you can, because in a few weeks your favorite bar, coffee shop, restaurant may not be able to reopen, because they won’t have the financial means,” Schumacher says.

​Here’s the ABC-7 report: