Gay waitress from New Jersey stiffed for tip receives outpouring of support

BRIDGEWATER, NJ

"Utah, Los Angeles, Illinois, Wisconsin, Jersey, North Carolina," Dayna Morales said, flipping through a pile of letters.

"We get stacks of mail every day now, all addressed to Dayna," general manager Byron Lapola said. Last week, a family with a nearly $94 bill chose not to leave a tip for Dayna Morales because she is gay. They wrote that on the receipt as her tip. She posted it on Facebook, forgiving them and the response has been a sea of support coming to Asian Gallop Bistro.

"Letters are coming in from across the world. Germany, Italy, the UK -- like all over the place," Lapola said.

"You're a lovely person and I wish you a lifetime of happiness. Please find enclosed the tip you should have received," Morales read from one of the letters.

One reservation says "First time diner. Dayna's section if she's working." It's non-stop, and so are the checks and credit card tips called in and walked in to answer a bias.

"Overwhelmed. Crazy to see all the good in the world, in a sense. That there really are more good people out there than you would think," Morales said.

"This was disgraceful. That was really the reason that got us here," Sharon Brooks of Bridgewater said.

"It's really ashamed in this day and age that something like that would happen.," Annati Schenkman of Basking Ridge said.

Dayna is a Marine veteran. She began waitressing at gallop when it opened three months ago. She's donating the outpouring of tips to the Wounded Warriors organization for servicemen and women injured in the line of duty.

"They need it the most. Me being a vet, we're doing good with it. It was never about the money, but the message," she said.

This story was reported by WABC-TV, KTRK's sister station in New York City.

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