ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What if someone surprised you with $505, no questions asked?

That’s exactly what a couple of metro business owners did after having dinner at a restaurant in Nob Hill.

“You vote with your dollars and, if you want to see your city grow, you have to invest in the people and the business that are already there,” said Ramon Casaus, a local business owner.

Casaus calls it the “505 Dinner.” He explained how it works.

“We don’t tell the wait staff. They have no idea what’s going on. We all eat our meals, hang out, have some laughs and, at the very end, on top of our actual total, each person tips $505,” Casaus said.

Casaus said they started this back in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During that whole situation, restaurant and local ones specifically, your mom-and-pop shops, they got hit pretty hard during those couple years. So, we wanted to do something that was impactful for local business owners who had been negatively affected by the pandemic,” he said.

Casaus said this is a tradition they plan to continue, especially to spread holiday cheer.