ALPENA, Mich. (AP) 鈥� The restaurant bill was $23. But the tip at a small-town restaurant in Michigan was much larger: $2,020.
鈥淭hings like this don鈥檛 happen to people like me,鈥� server Danielle Franzoni told The Alpena 太子探花.
Franzoni, 31, got the tip while working Sunday at Thunder Bay River Restaurant in Alpena. The credit card receipt said 鈥淗appy New Year. 2020 Tip Challenge.鈥�
Franzoni, a single mother, couldn’t believe the number, but her manager assured her the tip was legitimate.
She said she was living in a homeless shelter a year ago. Franzoni plans to use the money to reinstate her driver’s license and build savings.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 know nothing about my story. They don鈥檛 know where I鈥檝e come from. They don鈥檛 know how hard it鈥檚 been,鈥� Franzoni said of the couple who left the tip. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really just doing this out of the kindness of their heart.鈥�
Franzoni later went to a restaurant and left a $20.20 tip.
鈥淭hat was my pay-it-forward,鈥� she said, smiling. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 do the other one.鈥�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
