Ryan Brandy, a waitress who received a $4,400 tip from a group of good Samaritans organized by Grant Wise to split between her and another server, has been fired from her job after Oven and Tap's, the restaurant, manager forced her to cough up most of the money.
Grant Wise, who owns a local real estate company, organized the '$100 Dinner Club' to dine at the Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas, earlier this month, with each member contributing a $100 tip.
Grant Wise called the Oven and Tap ahead of the outing to confirm that its servers did not share tips, and as he presented one of the waitresses, Ryan Brandt, with a check for $4,400 to split between her and another waitress who served the group, she was left in tears.
But soon after, Ryan Brandt said, the Oven and Tap's managers told her she would have to split the tip with ALL of her co-workers - something she said they have not requested in the three and a half years she has worked there.
'I was told that I was going to be giving my cash over to my shift manager and I would be taking home 20 percent,' Ryan Brandt told FOX 59.
Ryan Brandt, who studied Spanish at the University of Arkansas, said she was 'devastated' at having to fork over the large tip as she had planned to use the money to help pay off her student loans.
A few days later, Grant Wise found out that Ryan Brandt had been fired for 'violating' the restaurant's rules by telling Grant Wise about its tip policy.
Grant Wise had come up with the idea for the '$100 Dinner Club' during the pandemic, telling 5 News that he knew many servers who were struggling under COVID-related shutdowns. He had hosted a real estate conference in Arkansas, and orchestrated the event at the Oven and Tap to pay-it-forward.
'We knew servers were really hit hard through COVID and it was something that [a friend] had come up with to help give back,' Grant Wise told 5 News. He said he had called the restaurant beforehand to confirm the restaurant did not have a policy about tip sharing or pooling tips, and when a restaurant employee confirmed that they did not have such a policy, Grant Wise and his wife moved forward with their plan.
They then presented Ryan Brandt, in her early 30s, with the large tip, leaving her in tears - a moment that was posted to Instagram on December 2.
'I'm so sorry to interrupt everyone's dinner, this will only take 60 seconds,' Wise begins in the video.
'We have a table full of absolutely amazing people from all over the country who have traveled here, and tonight we're hosting a $100 Dinner Club,' he says, as he wraps his arm around Ryan Brandt, and points in the distance.
'Everyone at this table has contributed or tipped $100 for you and for the other waitress who unfortunately had to go home because she's not feeling well.
'And then we put it out to our social media channels, and then we actually had a bit more money sent in, so we are tipping a total of $4,400 for you to split with the other girl who took care of us.'
Grant Wise said he tried to get in contact with the owner to 'ensure that everything was going to be OK, but was unable to connect with her outside of a few text messages that eventually stopped.'
Grant Wise then went back to Oven and Tap to get his money back and hand it to Ryan Brandt directly, outside the restaurant, he said.
But by December 7, Grant Wise posted on social media, he had found out that Ryan Brandt was fired from her job.
'I'm so saddened to hear that the girl we tipped the other night at our $100 Dinner Club has been fired from her job. I don't fully understand why this would happen to what seems like such a sweet and kind-hearted woman. Nonetheless, I'm committed to showing her that there are great people in the world that will do good when they can.'
He announced that he would put together a GoFundMe for the server.
In a statement to FOX 59, Oven and Tap officials said: 'After dining, this large group of guests requested that their gratuity be given to two particular servers. We fully honored their request.
'Out of respect for our highly valued team members, we do not discuss the details surrounding the termination of an employee.'
Grant Wise wrote in the GoFundMe that he wanted to help Ryan Brandt 'get through the next couple of months, and to hopefully find a new job opportunity,' noting that he does 'not know Ryan outside of her waiting on us in the past' and does 'not know what type of employee she was outside of what I personally experienced and what we've read from other people commenting that were her regulars.
On Thursday, Grant Wise posted an update saying Ryan Brandt was offered a job at another restaurant, and began work on December 8.
Grant Wise shut down the fundraiser on Saturday, after it surpassed $8,700.
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