Souk Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar staff received an early present for the holidays after a restaurant patron left a $5,600 tip Saturday night.
“It was very overwhelming,” Moussa Salloukh, Chef of Souk Mediterranean, located at 139 S. Huron St. in Toledo’s Warehouse District, said. “To do something like that ... it’s unbelievably kind.”
The guest, who is referred to as Billy, left the generous tip to be given to all of the staff, whether they were on that shift or not. Twenty-eight staff members received a $200 tip.
“It was a magical moment. A lot of the staff cried,” Chef Salloukh said.
During the holiday season, December is a month for staff to earn extra money to buy family gifts, put a bit into savings, and take care of bills or repairs that have been lingering, but because of the pandemic, Chef Salloukh said, “it’s not panning out.”
As coronavirus hits the restaurant industry hard with closures and restrictions, this kind gesture was needed and appreciated.
“A ‘thank you’ cannot be said enough,” Chef Salloukh said. “It makes the heart feel good.”
Pronounced like soup with a “k,” the restaurant opened in October, 2019 and offers cuisine billed as pan-Mediterranean in that it goes all around the azure pond, from North Africa to Italy, Lebanon to Turkey. Souk is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed Sundays and Mondays.
First Published December 13, 2020, 8:26 p.m.
