Server who received anti-gay note to donate tips to wounded veterans

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — The New Jersey restaurant server and former Marine who was left a note condemning her lesbian “lifestyle” instead of a tip, has been receiving extra tips for days since her story broke, and says she plans to donate them to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Dayna Morales, a server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Branchburg, N.J., said a family dining at the restaurant on Nov. 13 night skipped the tip on their $93.55 bill.

A note on the receipt, left by a couple with two young children, read: “Sorry, I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle and the way you live your life.”

Since then, Morales has been “overwhelmed” by the show of support” she’s received since the incident last week.

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She says customers and even non-customers dropping by to donate the amount of the tip for the original check has already topped $2,000 and is still coming in, reports The New Jersey Star-Ledger.

Morales says she is donating the money to the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps severely injured veterans.

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“I never really expected or imagined this could happen,” she said Saturday in the middle of dinner rush, when she met a gay couple and their family who drove from New York to donate $20 each, the rough equivalent of a 20 percent tip on the original check of $93.55.

Morales’ employer has decided to match every donation to the cause.

Donations to Morales for the Wounded Warrior Project may be made in person or by mail to Gallop Asian Bistro, 793 Route 202, Branchburg, N.J. 08876.