Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Food

Tips For Jesus Doles Out $9K in L.A. This Weekend

acabartipsforjesus.png
()

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today . 

The anonymous tipper has been dropping massive tips for servers at restaurants during the past several months, leaving waiters grateful and elated, especially during the holiday season where cash is particularly tight. And this past weekend, he dropped a total of 9 grand around L.A.

Said mystery tipper is reportedly Jack Selby, a bay area hyper-entrepreneur who made his vast fortune from PayPal.

Here in L.A., he's hit up Fig & Olive and Plan Check. And this past weekend, Tips For Jesus Paid a visit to Acabar, the West Hollywood restaurant where Octavio Becerra chefs and the likes of Julian Cox and Josh Goldman can be found behind the stick. He left a $5,000 tip on a $2,078 tab (a 241% tip), and at Pearl's he left a $4,000 tip on a $1,076 bill (372%).

The restaurant is housed in an opulent space reminiscent of the Alhambra in Spain, which got us to thinking: kind and generous as these gestures are, Tips For Jesus has been making stops at some pretty fancy joints.

Support for LAist comes from

Of course, all servers deserve more than they're getting paid currently. Those waiting tables at high end fine dining establishments like Fig & Olive and Acabar undoubtedly make more in tips than someone pulling shifts at Apple Pan or Swingers. It's super cool that he's stopped into Denny's and IHOP, but the tips there have only been $100 as opposed to the $5000 dropped at Acabar.

What ever happened to the last shall be the first?

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist