Centennial High School theater students surprise Las Cruces server with $300 tip

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - When the Centennial High School theater teacher learned his kids would be grabbing a bite after their show, he had one piece of advice.

“The only thing I remember mentioning to them is, ‘Be nice to your servers!'" said Darin Cabot. "I used to work in food service. I’m an actor, you know?”

After their performance on the 22nd, the kids headed to the Village Inn on Telshor Boulevard in Las Cruces. They were shocked by the generosity of a student's aunt, who picked up the bill for the entire group.

That gave Ashton Taylor an idea.

"I was like, “Hey guys, since we’re not having to pay for our food and we’re not having to pay for our drinks, let’s put everything that we would have spent into a tip,'" Taylor told ABC-7.

The group immediately grew excited by the idea. By the time Taylor had collected the money, he realized he had $300 to give to their server.

"I was a little blown away because I was not expecting that much!" Taylor said.

“We’re not an easy group to deal with!" laughed Axel Hale, a junior in the program. "I am so incredibly proud to be member of Centennial theater. They’re one of the best groups you could possibly be in.”

The kids wanted to thank their server for his incredible service and "swag" while serving the large group. According to a spokeswoman for Village Inn, the server did not want to be identified. However, the kids were still grateful.

"His overall niceness toward our group was amazing," Hale said.