Country Singer Leaves $1,000 Tip for Waitress Working a Double While Caring for Her Baby

A country music singer recently made a generous gesture when they left a large tip for a woman who was working a double server shift while caring for her infant daughter at a Waffle House in Greensboro, North Carolina, WGHP reports. Shirell “Honey” Lackey was working a double shift at the restaurant from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. while caring for her infant daughter in between serving customers, and the artist — who Lackey wanted to keep anonymous — stopped in to order a to-go meal during her shift shortly before she was scheduled to leave.

Lackey told the station that a member of the artist’s team first ate at the restaurant and tipped her $50 before leaving. A few minutes later, the singer came into the Waffle House and shared that he had just been told about Lackey’s work ethic. “He was like, ‘I just heard you were at work with your baby for 15 hours,’” she recalled. “He was like, ‘I have to respect a mother that would do whatever it takes to support their child in a society where people don’t even want to work anymore.’”

Lackey shared that she cashed the artist out on a to-go order and he tipped her $1,000. In addition to the generous tip, the singer also gifted Lackey two concert tickets for his show the next evening and sent baby clothes and toys to her home for her daughter Bella. “It feels good to be recognized,” Lackey said. “I mean, I don’t do it to be recognized, I do it because Bella is everything, but it’s nice to be recognized for doing the things we do as mothers.”

The anonymous star is one of several country artists who have shown their generosity during the pandemic — earlier this year, Darius Rucker covered the bill for every diner at an IHOP in Charleston, South Carolina. Stephen Vitale, the General Manager of the Mount Pleasant location of the breakfast chain, told WCSC-TV that Rucker is considered a regular at the restaurant and decided to treat patrons during a recent trip.

“It was a full restaurant,” Vitale said, sharing that Rucker approached him and asked to pay for the meals of everyone dining at the time. “There were a lot of people. I added it up and he paid.” Vitale added that the singer left a “very generous” tip for the servers to share and that his gesture “caused a lot of excitement.”