Bee Anantatho was very proud when her restaurant, Thailicious in Edgewater, received a $1,088 tip from a customer this weekend. She and her husband, Surachai Surabotsopon, emigrated from Bangkok to Colorado about five years ago, and opened their Thai restaurant — which specializes in Bangkok-style Thai cuisine — a few years ago. They’ve been steadily building a loyal fan base, and the eye-popping tip seemed to validate their venture.

“I think this is a big thing,” she said shortly after one of her waiters received the surprising tip.

She heard about it when the server who cleared the table picked up the checkbook, where customers usually put extra money for tips when they pay in cash.

The server brought it straight to her, and she consulted with her staff to clarify the situation. Even though they put tips in a jar to share among the servers, Anantatho remembers the reaction of the waiter who’d served the man.

“He said he’d read a lot of stories like this, but usually the tip is a couple hundred dollars, not $1,000,” she said. “He was so happy.”

Relying on her instincts as a business owner, Anantatho told her crew they should hold on to the money, just in case he came back.

And he did, the very next day, the moment the restaurant opened.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry, I was drunk,’ ” she said. “He didn’t know he put all the money he had in the checkbook.”

Some of the bills were $100 bills, and she suspected he might have thought they were $1 bills.

She gave the money back to him, and he gave her $100 to cover the dinner, about $60, and the rest for a tip.

Although disappointed for her staff, which thought it had earned a major tip, she’s content with the way she handled an embarrassing situation, making it easy for the customer.

“I think he will come back,” she said.