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Happy 2020: Server at Michigan restaurant gets $2,020 tip

Danielle Franzoni once lived in a homeless shelter. She said she plans to use the money to reinstate her driver's license and build savings.
Credit: Julie Riddle/The News via AP
In this Dec. 30, 2019 photo, server Danielle Franzoni holds a receipt from a customer with a $2,020 tip included at Thunder Bay River Restaurant in Alpena, Mich. The credit card receipt said "Happy New Year. 2020 Tip Challenge." Franzoni, a single mother, couldn't believe the number, but her manager assured her the tip was legitimate.

ALPENA, Mich. — The new year already is looking good for a server at a small-town restaurant in Michigan.

Danielle Franzoni says she got a $2,020 tip Sunday on a bill that was only $23. 

The 31-year-old single mother said, “Things like this don't happen to people like me.” She even asked her manager if the tip were real, Franzoni told The Alpena News

Franzoni works at Thunder Bay River Restaurant in Alpena. 

She says she was living in a homeless shelter a year ago and is a recovering addict. Franzoni plans to use the money to reinstate her driver's license and build savings.

After learning about the gift, the newspaper reports, Franzoni went out to eat and tipped the waiter $20.20.

"That was my pay it forward," she said, smiling. "I couldn’t do the other one."

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