Atlanta Media Mogul Tyler Perry Gives $21K Tip at Houston’s Restaurant

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Tyler Perry gave a $21,000 tip while picking up his food order a Houston's on West Paces Ferry Road. / Invision/AP

Atlanta resident Tyler Perry not only supported one of his favorite restaurants by ordering take-out food Sunday, but he also dropped a $21,000 tip.

Perry's publicist confirms the entertainment giant (actor, director, studio owner/executive) left a tip while picking up his order at Houston's in the Paces Ferry Plaza located in Buckhead.

Perry is known for his charitable giving. In December 2018, Perry paid off the layaways for all the customers at two Atlanta Walmart locations.

Metro Atlanta is one of the nation's largest employers of people in the food and beverage industry and the forced closings of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic has hit the restaurant industry hard.

Organizations, such as The Giving Kitchen, are taking donations to help struggling, unemployed restaurant workers who are often uninsured.  

There were 488,400 restaurant and foodservice jobs in Georgia in 2019 or 11% of employment in the state, according to the Georgia Restaurant Association.

"What Tyler Perry is doing should be setting an example for everybody in this time of crisis," said Jen Hidinger-Kendrick, co-founder of The Giving Kitchen. "Whether it is giving financially or volunteering at a local charity. I think it's an example of how everybody really should be helping at this time."

Bryan Schroeder, Giving Kitchen's executive director, told GPB's On Second Thought host Virginia Prescott that "Over the past three weeks, during all this chaos, we've been able to provide $65,000 in financial assistance to about 45 food service workers in crisis."

Perry owns a 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios, located on the site of former U.S. Army military base Fort McPherson in East Point. The studio holds 12 soundstages and 200 acres of green space.