WATCH: Patrons in a south Edmonton lounge were treated to some holiday cheer Monday, but it’s not what you might think.

EDMONTON – It was an anonymous gift that had diners flabbergasted. A stranger, dining at a restaurant in south Edmonton, covered the bill for everyone in the lounge.

It was lunchtime on Monday and the Moxie’s lounge was bustling. But, when patrons from about eight or nine tables went to settle their tabs, they were told an anonymous stranger already paid.

“A man came up to me and I had been serving him, and he said to me, ‘is there any way to combine bills together of the entire lounge?’ I was taken off guard at first, but I did it for him,” recalls lounge server Brittany Anderson.

“He did it right away. A random act of kindness and left as if nothing happened. It was impressive.”

READ MORE: Random acts of Christmas kindness

“One of my lounge servers went and grabbed me from the back and just said ‘could you help me out?’,” recalls Moxie’s manager Matthew Russo.

“There was a man who just whispered – kept it pretty quiet – he said ‘I’d just like to pay for the lounge’s bill, if that’s possible, if we could do that.’ At first I was taken aback by it, but I was like, ‘I think we can make that happen.’

“He paid the bill and left very quietly. It was incredibly generous.”

“The way he did it – very low-key – I think he made a lot of people’s day today,” added Russo.

He says the bill for the eight tables was substantial.

“I’ve never seen it before… in all my time working in the restaurant industry,” he says.

Russo says the gesture quickly put patrons and staff alike in a good mood.

“I think it’s blown everyone away.

“Holiday spirit: if you didn’t have it before, you have it now.”

And, if he could say one thing to the stranger who spread so much cheer?

“Thank you for kind of just giving that Christmas spirit,” says Russo. “It was incredibly generous and kind and much appreciated.”

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