A California waitress received a generous gift when a customer tipped her $1,000 after the restaurant she worked at had to close for a week.

Sarah Klein missed out on a week’s worth of pay when her job at The Mainstream Bar and Grille in Poway was put on hold when a boil water order shut the business down for six days.

When the restaurant reopened, Klein mentioned to one of her regulars how the water outage affected her family. With Christmas around the corner, losing a paycheck made a world of difference.

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Sarah Klein missed out on a week’s worth of pay when her job at The Mainstream Bar and Grille in Poway was compromised over a boil water order that shut down the business for six days. (Photo: KABC)

"You do really want to budget," Klein told KABC. "You really want to figure out what you want to do for the holiday or how you are going to spend your money. So that was scary."

Surprisingly, the customer returned to give Klein what he called a “donation.”

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The envelope, which had "Merry Christmas!" written on it, contained 10 $100 bills, which the customer said could be used toward whatever Klein needed. (Photo: KABC)

"He came back with an envelope and $1,000 cash was inside for me," she said.

The envelope, which had "Merry Christmas!" written on it, contained 10 $100 bills, which the customer said could be used toward whatever Klein needed.

"Poway is like a family," said the restaurant’s general manager, Brian Harvey. "And they come together in times of need, and it's definitely one of those times."

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When asked what she planned on spending the money on, Klein said she would use it to make the holiday more special for her family.

"You know, just spend it on my son's birthday is this month, and the holidays,” she said. “So now there is so much more we can do. So I'm just really proud to be in Poway."