CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A restaurant owner said his manager performed a kind act for a man who said he was in need, making him a free meal. But he said the good deed did not go unpunished: The man stole from the workers’ tip jar while they made his food — and he went back for seconds.
Video shows the man reaching in not once, not twice, but three times, pocketing the cash and then taking the food he was given for free.
It happened at Hermanos Cantina Grill at 2209 Ponce de Leon Blvd. in Coral Gables.
One of the restaurant owners says the man came in claiming he was looking for work.
“He was asking for, like, to work but that was just an excuse. It was just an excuse to make her go back there and steal the money,” said Dennis Fernandez, part owner.
The manager, out of the goodness of her heart and wallet, paid for his meal, feeling sorry for him.
While she was distracted making his free meal, he made sure no one else was around so he could swipe the cash.
“She paid for it and that is even worse and that is what makes me really sad,” Fernandez said.
Unbeknownst to her, she and the other employees were being swindled in the process.
Dennis Fernandez says the restaurant has been open for one year and workers do what they can to help the community. He also believes this was not the first time this has happened.
What the man failed to realize is a camera above the register recorded his every move.
They have now taken steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“We ordered a tip jar with a lock,” Fernandez said.
The owner says he plans to reach out to police and to warn other businesses in the area to beware.