Lawyer exposes no-tip bigot

Listen to this article

By Peter Vieth
BridgeTower Media Newswires 

A Harrisonburg, Va., lawyer says he earned some unintended publicity this month with his “intemperate language” after a restaurant insult was directed at his waitress granddaughter.

John Elledge publicized an Aug. 15 incident where a pair of diners not only stiffed his granddaughter on a meal tip, but added “We only tip citizens” on the credit card slip.

Elledge’s 18-year-old granddaughter, Sadie, is a U.S. citizen – native born – but is of Honduran and Mexican descent. She works at Jess’ Lunch, a legendary eatery at the town square in Harrisonburg that’s a favorite with the courthouse crowd.

Sadie showed the message to Elledge who wasted little time venting his anger on Facebook.

“I was pretty angry, more so than she was,” Elledge said.

He wrote online that would “happily do the jail time” if could get “one solid punch” in the face of the person who wrote the message.

Later, he posted a photo of the card slip, saying, “You are a complete and total piece of dung.”

That wasn’t the end of the conflict, however.

The couple who stiffed Sadie objected to having their credit card number – just the last four digits – exposed on the internet. The pair returned to the diner to loudly express their concerns.

Hearing they were at the restaurant, Elledge walked over to confront the intolerant diners.

“I heard they were there, creating a ruckus,” he said. When he arrived, the male had already left. His female companion was “kind of teary-eyed,” Elledge said.

Elledge told the woman he had no regrets about posting a signed insult.

“I didn’t like it, so I posted it. Of course, I’m going to post it,” he said.

The woman denied writing it, Elledge said.

Elledge said the manager reviewed the security camera footage of the couple as they checked out. Elledge said the video suggested it could not have been anyone else but the couple who added the hurtful words to the credit card slip.

Social media spread the ugly message across the world, with many voicing anger towards the diners and support for Sadie.

“Lots of folks have been very kind to my granddaughter as a result of this,” Elledge said.

A Shenandoah Valley (Va.) business posted on its blog that it would be providing Sadie a two-year scholarship at Blue Ridge Community College.

The lawyer added he would do it all again if the situation were repeated, but he might leave off the threat to punch the offending customer.

He said the video revealed the male diner was a rather large fellow.

“I could have ended up doing hospital time before jail time,” Elledge quipped.

The owner of Jess’ Lunch posted her own Aug. 22 note on Facebook, saying the restaurant was “built by immigrants, run by immigrants and loved by its community.” She said the restaurant will continue to support its staff in situations of this nature.