'I just can't believe it': Waukesha server given $1,000 tip

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A hometown waitress got a generous tip a week before Christmas.

Dave's Restaurant in Waukesha is a local favorite. On Tuesday morning, it smelled of sizzling bacon and fluffy pancakes, the same aroma and atmosphere you would encounter on any given day at the diner on 316 W. Broadway.

No matter what day you stop by, you will also meet server Sherry Moede.

"Dave's, it's a diner, it's like family, there are so many regulars that come in. And Jose has been here like 35 years, and he's owned it for 16 years. So, everybody knows us," Moede explained.

The Waukesha native is beloved by regular customers like Katie Baesemann, who often stops by for lunch.

"Their people are really nice, and the food is good, and I go back to work very full," Baesemann said. "[Sherry] does a very good job. It's not easy because I've been there, and it's not fun."

Moede has been serving Dave's menu for four years as she works to save money to fulfill a lifelong dream.

"I have two jobs. I work here seven days a week, and I am also a caregiver," she said. "I've been working two jobs for a long time, and I'm saving to buy a building."

Moede tells CBS 58 that saving money has been a slow process, but she got a sudden bump on Monday, Dec. 18, when 11 women came to dine at Dave's. While cashing out, the women gave Moede a card with a $1,000 tip signed by them, the "Pewaukee Moms."

"I just can't believe it. I'm so thankful to them," Moede said. "The [card] just said, 'We do this every year to bring blessings on a server,' and it said, 'you were very sweet' and 'thank you for accommodating us.'"

This was the biggest tip Moede had ever received.

"I was completely shocked," she said. "I didn't know them at all."

Moede hopes this act of kindness will inspire people to remember that their servers are doing their best.

"I think people don't realize that servers work for their tips. They make so little, so they rely on it, and we have bills like everybody else," she said. "Just treat people with respect. We work really hard. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes that no one knows about."

Moede posted the tip on social media to try to get ahold of the women to thank them in person, but until she can do that, she left the generous group a message.

"[I'm] just so blown away by what they did. I appreciate it so much, and I promise I'll do something good with it."