A patron at a restaurant in Northwest Washington D.C. left much more than a 20 percent tip earlier this week to show his appreciation to the staff.

NBC 4 Washington reported that the customer, who is a regular at the Blue 44 restaurant, ordered some gumbo after having fried chicken and beer while dining with a friend Monday evening. Owner Chris Nardelli said the quarts of stew were offered to him for free since he visits the establishment so often.

"We gave them a couple quarts of gumbo on the house after their meal, but never expected anything like this," Nardelli said.

The Washington Post noted that later, bartender Laura Dally picked up the patron’s check and noticed a huge tip on his $93 dollar bill with instructions on how to divide it up.

The writing on the bill asked that $1,000 go to chef James Turner and $500 go to Dally and the other $500 to Nardelli.

The customer, whose name the restaurant has not provided to protect his privacy, was sent a “thank you” email for his generosity to which he replied, “I’m very happy to express my gratitude in that way.”

Images shared via Twitter by WUSA9

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