It’s been a difficult year, especially for everyone in the restaurant industry. But a Christmas miracle came a few days early for one waitress in Dover, New Hampshire.
Arianna Gutierrez' 2020 has been tough for a thousand different reasons
“She’s been struggling just like most of us, but a little bit more,” said Nikki Basham, a manager at 2 Home Cooks.
“We shut down in March, we were doing online takeout, and that cut back a lot,” Basham explained.
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Gutierrez works hard to provide for her 5-year-old daughter Ryleigh, but amid the pandemic, there were times it felt impossible.
“Honestly, it’s was just one thing after another,” the 22-year-old said, pointing out that the state shut down in March, then found takeout orders at the restaurant dwindled.
As Christmas inched closer and things weren’t getting any easier, Gutierrez had no other choice than to ask for help.
“I had to do Toys for Tots for her this year,” Gutierrez said.
But on Saturday morning, a different kind of help arrived in the most unexpected way, and “it just changed everything,” she said.
A group of 14 people came in for breakfast and left a $953 tip.
“It was special, it was crazy and it was unexpected,” Gutierrez said.
And while it’s true, money can’t always buy happiness, this year it did. The single mom was finally able to buy the one gift on her daughter’s Christmas list and save the rest for a trip to Disney World.
“One day we will get to do that special thing together and she will remember forever and I’ve never had that,” Gutierrez said. “It’s amazing.”
The Christmas angels tell NB10 Boston they started the “Giving Back Breakfast” last year. This year, they were able to help four people and can’t wait to spread the same holiday cheer next year.
