Surprise! Capital Bank pays off Valentine's dinner for 515 Triangle customers
Hidden cameras were placed around The Pit Authentic Barbeque restaurant in downtown Raleigh before the first customers arrived for dinner on Valentine's Day.
Capital Bank, formerly First Tennessee Bank, hired a film crew to capture people's reactions after deciding to pick up the tab for every customer that dined between 6-10 p.m.
"We love doing crazy things and especially when it involves doing things special for the community," said Samantha Hatem, a spokesperson for The Pit. "It was right up our alley."
The Pit says they served 515 customers. The tab surpassed $13,000.
"I didn't think that happened to people for real," said Paige O'Conner, who dined with her boyfriend Topher Mitchell. "I think everyone was feeling very grateful and happy and that's such a good environment to be in where everyone feels like something kind has happened to them."
Instead of a $50 check, O'Conner says she received a small paper that said: "At Capital Bank, we love helping you capitalize on opportunities to do more of what you love. And on this Valentine's Day, you really can do more of what you love because we're picking up your dinner bill, including the tip."
Amy Tharrington, the bank's regional marketing and public relations adviser, says Capital Bank is growing in the Triangle and throughout North Carolina and they look forward to doing more community outreach.
Tharrington says the company is also announced on Valentine's Day a $25,000 donation to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
"We didn't want to just help people who can afford a dinner out, but also those who are less fortunate in our community," she said.
O'Conner says people reacted with confusion and excitement.
She says the gesture sparked a conversation with her boyfriend on their walk home about how they can spread kindness in their own lives.
So amazing!!
"We love how we felt so much," said O'Conner. "It kind of made us think about how we can give that feeling that we felt to other people."
