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Christmas cheer: 2 South Florida restaurant servers surprised with $850 tip

STUART, Fla. — Two restaurant servers at a South Florida restaurant were surprised Wednesday when the party of 17 people they served left an $850 tip -- more than four times the amount of the actual lunch bill.

Susan Morrison and Erin Gross were serving lunch to a party celebrating an early Christmas at the Metro Diner in Stuart, TCPalm reported. The bill was $208, but the two servers were stunned when each patron contributed a $50 tip, giving them $850 to split between themselves.

“I was thinking ‘This isn’t happening,’ " Morrison, 59, of Jensen Beach, told the website. "I’ve been a server for 40 years, and I’ve never had anything like this happen. It was amazing.”

The two servers hugged Nina Ferraro, who organized the Christmas lunch -- and the generous tip.

Ferraro said she got the idea after seeing a similar story on Facebook last year, TCPalm reported.

“It’s not winning the lottery or anything, but for people who don’t make a lot around the holidays, it’s a big deal,” Ferraro, of Palm City, told the website “We easily spend $50 on any meal we go out to. It’s such a simple thing that made such a difference."