If an Arkansas waitress had received a $4,400 tip from the “$100 Dinner Club,” she would have had the finest day of her life. Ryan Brandt had intended to use the money to pay off college loans until restaurant management intimated that he could only retain 20% of the tip and the rest would be distributed among the other staff members. After being dismissed for violating the restaurant’s tipping rules, Brandt was compelled to give up the bulk of the cash.

Thanks to local real estate firm owner Grant Wise, the proprietors of the “$100 Dinner Club” convened for a dine-in meeting at the Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas. Each participant left a $100 tip.

Wise called the restaurant ahead of time to ensure that the waiters did not divide tips. Ryan Brandt, the waitress, was overjoyed and in tears when the manager handed her a check for $4,400, which she and the other employees split.

When the restaurant’s management realized that Brandt had received such a significant number of tips, they told her that she would be expected to divide a percentage of the money with the other employees. This was a request she had never received at the restaurant where she had worked for the previous three and a half years.

“I was informed that I was going to be passing my cash over to my shift manager and that I would be taking home 20%,” Brandt told FOX 59, adding that she had never been asked to split her tip in the three and a half years she has worked there.

Brandt, who is in her early 30s and studies Spanish at the University of Arkansas, was meant to use the money to pay off her student debt until she was forced to give up the substantial sum to her superiors, leaving her distraught. Instead, she was compelled to fork up the cash.

After a few days, Brandt was dismissed from the restaurant for ‘violating’ its guidelines by notifying Wise about the establishment’s tip policy. Brandt breached the regulation by informing Wise about the restaurant’s tip policy.

Wise observed that many restaurant servers were suffering and suffering significantly as a result of COVID-19-related events during the outbreak and global lockdown. As a result, he devised the “$100 Dinner Club.” He scheduled a real estate conference in Arkansas to take place at their favorite dine-in restaurant, the Oven and Tap.

Wise and his wife followed through with their strategy after receiving assurance from restaurant management that there was no tip-sharing program in place.

When Wise discovered that the restaurant management had forced Brandt to divide her gratuity with the other employees, the sweet moment swiftly became heartbreaking. She was dismissed not long after. He was unable to speak with the restaurant’s owner, so he texted her instead.

When he returned to the Oven and Tap restaurant to get his money back and personally deliver it to Brandt, he found out she had been fired. On December 7, he posted about the occurrence on social media.

Wise said on her GoFundMe page, “My only desire is to help her get through this experience with the least amount of stress and anxiety possible and onto whatever her next chance may be.”

Wise just announced on his social media channels that Brandt accepted a new job offer from another restaurant and began working there on December 8.

Grant Wise chose to stop the GoFundMe campaign after raising $8,700.