Surprise! UES Steakhouse Waitresses Each Get $50,000 In Art Collectors Will
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two waitresses at an Upper East Side steakhouse were surprised and thrilled when they found a wealthy art collector had left them each $50,000.
As 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported, Asian art collector Robert Ellsworth was a fixture at Donohue's steakhouse, at 845 Lexington Ave., according to waitress Maureen Donohue-Peters.
She said Ellsworth would talk about the Asian art he collected, and bring in clients as he ate a steak and drank bourbon. She said it was devastating when he died.
Surprise! UES Steakhouse Waitresses Each Get $50,000 In Art Collectors Will
"I consider him family. I don't consider him a customer at all. He's just a wonderful man and a dear friend," Donohue said.
She said the man she knew as Bob, who ate at the steakhouse seven times a week, was always generous at giving back. Still, it came as a shock to learn that there was $50,000 for her in his will and another $50,000 for her niece, Maureen Barrie.
"I did not expect anything. I was blown away. So was my niece," Donohue said. "No one expected anything."
In the will, Ellsworth referred to Donohue and her niece by their first names, and mentioned the name of the restaurant.
Long time customers said the restaurant is like home. The staff and other regular customers are like family, so they were not surprised by the generous gift.
"It doesn't surprise me. He was just a wonderful guy," Carol Dudley told CBS2's Elise Finch.
"I thought it was fabulous. I think she totally deserves it," Addie Guttag said.
"It couldn't have happened to a better person. I was really happy for Maureen more than anything else," David Guttag added.
Donohue said every time she looks at Ellsworth's favorite booth she thinks of him, so while she appreciates the money, she would rather have her friend back.
"He was a part of the family. He was a man that gave forward, never looked for anything in return. I'd rather have him here," she said.
Donohue-Peters' father founded Donohue's steakhouse, according to a New York Post report. She told the newspaper she had known Ellsworth for 53 years.
