BLOOMINGTON - Kris Riley continues to serve bacon and eggs and refill coffee with a smile, even though her tips have dropped about 20 percent.

"It started in about October," said the mother of two, a waitress at Bloomington's Garden of Paradise. She once made about $100 a day in tips, but that was before the recession. Today she earns about $85, but added "every day is different."

Riley has company among servers, especially those working at family restaurants, where wait staff and managers have noted gratuities dropping in tandem with the economy. It's a critical loss, given that the money left on a table at the end of a meal typically helps comprise at least 80 percent of a server's salary.

But at some higher-end restaurants managers said it's still business as usual, perhaps because their clientele have more to spend.

Riley, meanwhile, sometimes works seven days a week to make up for the reduced earnings. Her family has had to make other adjustments as well.

"We don't go out to eat or to the movies as often and we are watching what we buy at the grocery store," she said.

Barb Winslow, a waitress at Woody's Family Restaurant in LeRoy, has also noticed fewer tips, estimating she's off about 15 percent since November.

Winslow earns the below-minimum-wage-rate of $4.55 an hour without tips, said some of her customers continue to tip well. "I had a gentleman who bought a $10 meal and tipped me $5," she said.

She also keeps her spirits up by hoping that things will rebound, but said the loss of income has forced her to put vacation plans on hold.

Added Riley: "Everybody is hurting."

But maybe not.

Operators of two of the more upscale restaurants in Bloomington-Normal said they haven't noticed any drop in tips among their staff.

Jason Bratcher, director of operations at Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works, said he's noticed no change at the Normal brewpub.

"The economy in Bloomington-Normal is pretty good compared to the rest of the country," Bratcher said.

And David LeGrand, managing partner of Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano in Bloomington, said tips are actually up 0.5 percent over last year.

Servers there average about 19 percent tips at lunch and 20 percent at dinner, he said.

Whether gratuities are up or down may depend on the restaurant, said Sherrilyn Billger, an associate professor of economics at Illinois State University.

"People eating at higher-end restaurants might have more secure jobs," Billger suggested.

Hani Sager, co-owner of Garden of Paradise, said that in addition to not tipping as much, customers generally seem to be buying less.

And, regular customers, he added, might come in once a week now instead of twice as before.