It will be the most generous tip ever left in an Irish restaurant. Johnny Ronan, a regular diner at Town Bar & Grill on Dublin's Kildare Street, is to invest 500,000 in the struggling restaurant to ensure it remains open for business.
Ronan, and his business partner Richard Barrett, the developers behind Treasury Holdings, have been lined up as investors in the restaurant, which went into examinership last week.
Barrett, who is based in Shanghai, is a close associate of Ronan Ryan, the owner of Town. Dublin-based Johnny Ronan has been a regular diner there for years. The developer is also a regular at Residence, a nearby private members' club in a building which he owns on St Stephen's Green.
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Barrett and Ronan were not the first developers Ryan approached to rescue his restaurant. A group led by Paddy McKillen had advanced talks but decided not to invest. McKillen, the co-developer of the Jervis shopping centre, is involved in several prominent projects including the Clarence hotel, which he co-owns with Bono and the Edge of U2.
Town Bar & Grill, located in a basement just off St Stephen's Green, attracted a political clientele from nearby Leinster House, and several celebrities, including Bono. The tables turned when the recession began to bite into the restaurant industry's profits last year.
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Ryan said last week that about 20% of his restaurant's debts will be paid. He is owed 300,000, the Revenue is owed another 300,000, and food and wine suppliers a further 500,000. Several of those suppliers contacted RTE's Liveline programme last week to complain about unpaid debts.
"I'm not proud of what has happened to my suppliers but I kept in contact with every one of them," Ryan has said. "I didn't hide."
He said his choices were to put the restaurant into liquidation, in which case "no-one would get anything", or "get investment and pay off 20% of debts".
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A rescue plan has yet to be finalised. Last Thursday, Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton was appointed examiner to Rotem, the company behind the restaurant.
Ryan's restaurant in Sandyford - South Bar and Grill - went into liquidation in January owing 1.35m.