CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A man was caught on surveillance stealing a tip jar at a Pirate’s Cove restaurant on Battlefield Boulevard.
According to the Pirate’s Cove Facebook page, the incident happened around 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
The surveillance video showed the man holding a to-go menu at the host stand before he put it down, quickly grabbed the tip jar and ran out.
The tips were for hostess, Savanah Nuzzo, who takes to-go orders and helps bus tables.
Nuzzo says the man was peering through the window before coming into the restaurant to order.
After she gave him the menu, she turned around to put something away.
“He threw the menu down, grabbed the tip jar, and burst through the door,” she said.
Nuzzo says she was shocked it happened and immediately went to tell her boss, restaurant owner John Tillery.
“Everyone works hard for what they get. Here you have a guy who walks in and thinks he can take something and think he can get away with it. This time, he’s not getting away with it,” Tillery said.
Tillery shared the video and photos of the man on the restaurant’s Facebook page and his personal page.
He says it’s been shared thousands of times and many customers are showing up to support the hostess, who’s also five months pregnant.
More than $115 has been donated compared to the $40 that was taken in the jar.
“It’s a lot of money for her during this time being pregnant and being a military mom,” Tillery said.
Although this crime shows the negative side some people have, both say the tip donation shows the positive side.
“It shows you the world isn’t as bad as we think it is. We’ve got a lot of good people out there,” he said.
Nuzzo, who moved to Hampton Roads a few months ago with her husband who serves in the Navy, says she will use the money to buy a car seat.
If you know who committed this crime, you can contact the Chesapeake Police Department.