I've never worked in a restaurant where the owner got gifts from his customers.
But here, every day, there are tributes. Christmas cards. Boxes of fine chocolates; hedgehogs, truffles, trays of Baklava and sweets from the Indian Sweet shop. Elaborate floral displays with rare orchids and exotic flowers. The chocolates and food he leaves on the line so the waiters and staff can help themselves. It's a new feast every day and my trousers grow tight around my waist.
I've never seen this before, not on this scale; somehow he manages a personal relationship with all of his customers, it's impressive. And even more impressive, he doesn't hoard it or lay it aside as his own spoils, it's for everyone that works here. That is rare.