One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
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.
Kevin Smith Is An Impressively Big Tipper, At Least According To One Waitress
Kevin Smith perhaps discussing how high the stack of cash was for the tip (Photo by Gage Skidmore via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
While some customers prefer to skip the tip when they eat out, filmmaker Kevin Smith seems more than happy to show his appreciation for hardworking waitstaff. According to a waitress who once encountered Smith while working at a "very popular restaurant near Hollywood" about ten years ago, the writer/director/actor gave her and her coworkers a massive $1,000 tip each after he realized that he and his family had sat down at the restaurant just before closing. The waitress, C.J. Kincaid, relays the surprising celebrity encounter in a recent letter sent to Gawker's Kitchenette. And while the story is unsubstantiated, we'd like to believe that Smith is a generous guy.
According to Kincaid, Smith showed up to the nearly empty restaurant with his wife and daughter to eat, and though it was just 15 minutes before closing, the server seated the celebrity though it meant the staff would have to stay late. But it wasn't until after Smith and his family ate and he left a 100% tip on their meal that he realized that they had kept the staff late. He then not only apologized to them all, but handed them each a neat stack of $1,000 in cash. Kincaid recalls Smith's apology to her and her coworkers.
Like I told C.J. here, I’m really, honestly upset with myself for delaying you guys. I don’t want you guys to go home angry at me or angry at your job for forcing you to deal with dumbasses like me. Another thing I told C.J. was that there’s no point in arguing, because I won’t let this go. Are there any questions at all?
We're guessing there weren't really any questions.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
