Hundreds pay it forward at Starbucks in Connecticut

FILE - This Jan. 3, 2012 file photo shows the Starbucks Coffee logo in Mountain View, Calif. Starbucks Corp. is pushing beyond coffee with the opening of its first Evolution Fresh Inc. juice store, the company said Monday, March 19, 2012. ( AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
December 27, 2013 12:27:47 PM PST
Hundreds of people at a Starbucks in Connecticut were inspired to "pay it forward" and pick up the tab for strangers over the Christmas holiday.

The chain of giving started when a customer offered to pay for the next person in line early on Christmas Eve.

The recipient of the free drink extended the offer to another patron.

By the time the store closed, more than 300 customers had "paid it forward".

And it's a gift that keeps on giving -- by 5 p.m. Thursday the number had reached 720.