Just Be Claus: Group dishes $900 tip to Springdale Township waitress
Kayla Webster was working a hectic Saturday, waiting tables at David’s Diner when a surprise stopped her in her tracks.
“I thought she was going to hit the floor,” diner co-owner Pam Morrow-Wolfe said Tuesday, recalling the moment Webster stumbled into the kitchen, pale and appearing in shock, clutching a card.
“She looked white, and she just started crying,” Wolfe said.
Webster, of Cheswick, was reacting to a generous cash tip she had just received — $900, doled out by a table of eight customers.
That same table noshed on gingerbread pancakes and eggs Benedict and racked up a $123 bill.
When Webster retrieved their bill, she noticed the table “staring” at her when she began to open the card they included with payment.
“I took the card in the kitchen and opened it and then I hurried up and closed it — because there was so much money,” Webster said.
“There’s almost $1,000 here!” Webster shouted to her boss, Pam.
The greeting inside the card was simple, “Wishing you a truly wonderful holiday season” and it was signed, “Love, The Just Be Claus Crew.”
“It honestly brings us as much joy as the server,” said Betsie Bish Marks, founder of the Crew. “Seeing someone smile and knowing you played a part in putting it there is the best feeling in the world.”
Marks of Indiana Township created the Just Be Claus Crew in 2021.
“I saw the idea online and it’s become a tradition,” said Marks, owner of the Hartwood Learning Center, a daycare in Indiana Township.
“I, too, am a small-business owner, so we go to locally owned restaurants and our motivation is to just spread Christmas cheer and hopefully make someone’s holiday a little brighter,” Marks said.
To date, Marks and her dining crew have surprised servers at Kelly O’s Diner in Pittsburgh’s Strip District and Deer Creek Diner in West Deer.
Webster’s co-worker, Christy Schulte of Tarentum, heard the commotion from the kitchen and immediately thought the worst.
“I thought it was something bad, and I saw Kayla was holding her face. I thought something medical happened, or drama, but something not good,” Schulte said.
Schulte and Webster were the only two waitresses handling a packed diner Saturday.
David’s is in Springdale Township and operates on a tip pooling system, with all tips combined and shared among the waitstaff.
That was just fine with Webster.
After recovering from her surprise cash windfall, Webster composed herself and immediately began sharing her good fortune with her co-workers.
She gifted five fellow employees working in the kitchen with $100 each as early Christmas gifts.
Webster kept $200 for herself and gave Schulte the remaining $200.
“We had a great day. All the employees were shocked. It was a lot of hugs,” Schulte said. “Kayla went around hugging everyone in the restaurant.”
Webster, a self-professed hugger, composed herself and returned to the table to hug each and every stranger from the Just Be Clause Crew.
“I never met any of these people before in my life,” Webster said. “I paid it forward because I just am not greedy. Keeping all $900 could have been amazing and caught me up on bills. I had to get my car fixed recently and that set me back $800, and I’m still trying to catch up with that.”
Wolfe said she introduced herself to the generous tippers and thanked them for their patronage.
“By this time, a lot of customers were asking what was going on and I explained Kayla had received a life-changing tip,” Wolfe said. “It was cool.”
Webster, married with two children, has been a waitress since 2019. She’s never received such a generous tip before.
“We’re all a team here. We all work together, and I would have never kept all that money to myself,” Webster said.
Newly employed cook Jeremy Kemp was so busy cooking Saturday he didn’t know about the tip until Webster handed him $100 and wished him a Merry Christmas.
”I already spent my money. I took my significant other out to a nice dinner,” Kemp said.
Highlands High School junior Shanna Wolfe, 16, a busser at the diner, said receiving a $100 tip left her feeling shocked, surprised and very happy.
“I am hoping to use the money to go out with friends and buy gifts for someone from an angel tree and pay it forward,” Wolfe said.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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