Restaurant receives surge of job applications after group tipped staff $10,000

A Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake City has been met with a huge surge of job applications after a regular customer and friends tipped staff $10,000.

Tipping culture in the US is certainly a big one, with headlines usually coming to fruition because of lowly tips from customers.

Well, this story is the complete opposite, with owners of the Monarca restaurant utterly delighted at the very generous customer.

Owners Alfonso and Claudia Brito told Insider that Michael McHenry, a regular customer and fellow restaurant owner in the local area, visited Monarca with 24 others diners on a Friday in mid-September.

After enjoying a nice meal, the large party were getting ready to leave. This is when a member of the group called Brito over and thanked him for the meal.

Instagram/@monarca_dining

The diner subsequently asked the owner to bring his staff over to the table, with Brito bringing a team of his employees together, including the main cooks and sous chef.

What happened next neither Brito or any of the staff could have ever predicted.

"They just pulled out of this pocket $10,000 and they handed it over to Claudia, my wife, and me," Brito told Insider.

"All the staff members were super excited."

Brito shared the massive tip among all of his staff, including $2,000 to the party's table server, as per their request.

Taking to Instagram following the tip, the restaurant penned: "At Monarca we wanted to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for the incredibly generous gesture to our staff. A $10,000 tip left us all in awe and filled our hearts with immense joy.

"An act of kindness goes far beyond what words can express. The impact of the generosity extends not only to our staff but also to their families and our entire community. This kindness act has not only lifted our spirits but has also provided us with the means to continue striving towards excellence in our culinary endeavors."

Hefty tips from McHenry is something of a tradition, according to Brito.

Instagram/@monarca_dining

He meets with his pals once a year and typically leaves a large tip for staff, but the most recent one was certainly the biggest.

Brito went on to tell Insider the number of job applications to work at Monarca has boomed in recent weeks, while the restaurant has also been able to attract new customers.

"When they hear that somebody gave us $10,000, they obviously assume that it's a good service," Brito said.

"When they walk in my restaurant, they know that it's true."