An Atlanta woman who ordered from a Longhorn Steakhouse hit the jackpot.
Sometimes, ordering takeout isn’t the best experience. Restaurant employees, either because they’re in a rush or just inattentive, forget items. This isn’t the biggest problem if you remember to check your food when you’re picking it up. But if you got it delivered? Well, a meal you were looking forward to digging into just got delayed for a significant amount of time.
But there are instances where the food service gods smile upon you, leaving you with even more than you could’ve ever dreamed of. This is what seems to have happened with Jameria Lyn (@jameriatesfaye) when she tore open a takeout bag from Longhorn.
Inside the plastic were containers that held her food—but also a pair of surprises: full-sized salt and pepper shakers branded with the chain’s logo.
A Gift? Or Did She Help Herself?
While Lyn doesn’t indicate in her clip that she took the items herself, commenters seemed to think so. In fact, a caption for her post seems to indicate that she was confused by the find. “Like bruh, fr?” she wrote.
But there were throngs of people who remarked that they, too, helped themselves to restaurant items. “I got the tiny cast iron pan from Chili’s … oh and the fajitas cast iron one too,” one remarked.
One commenter explained that high prices is what prompted them to take items from eateries. “I’m leaving with something every time, [expletive] too high,” they penned.
And then there was this person who detailed a favorite item they pilfered from Longhorn Steakhouse: “I love my Longhorn steak knife … so sturdy.”
“Baby I stole their margarita shaker,” someone else mentioned.
There were some commenters who pushed back against taking items from restaurants.
“I wonder what could be driving the prices up?” one person wrote.
And someone else echoed this line of thinking, penning, “I mean I do it too. But this is why stuff so high.”
Restaurant Theft: A Real Problem
A 2023 article published by Food & Wine corroborates the aforementioned assertion of a correlation between theft and price spikes. The piece urges dining guests to “please stop stealing things from restaurants.”
It also criticizes visitors for being “a notoriously thieving bunch. If it’s not nailed down, someone will try to take it … their fingers are stickier than a laminated breakfast menu at a Waffle House.”
The write-up’s author shared how they worked at a business that gave individual serving bottles of maple syrup. But guests would take every chance they could to nab these bottles for themselves. This phenomenon became such a nagging issue that the restaurant only began handing out the cute little bottles upon request.
But that wasn’t the only item guests would grab. Cups, utensils, plates, wooden crab mallets, ceramic creamer containers—you name it. They even wrote that extra rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom would be filched as well.
Is It Illegal to Take Salt and Pepper Shakers From Restaurants?
Technically, yes, removing items from a restaurant that a customer hasn’t paid for is a crime. It’s typically defined as petty theft/larceny. The law offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates published a piece of NY Penal Law 155.25: Petit Larceny, which is defined as the theft of any property under $1,000.
Different states and jurisdictions across the United States have different maximum thresholds for what constitutes petty theft. If the quoted amount of these items exceeds this stated figure, then that constitutes grand larceny. The latter is usually classified as a felony in nearly every single U.S. state.
But if a restaurant guest is caught nabbing a steak knife or a few salt shakers, that wouldn’t constitute grand larceny.
Repeat Offenders
And if you think business owners don’t realize when folks are taking their items, think again. This Avvo legal forum discussion thread was started by a frustrated small business owner.
They asked legal experts on the platform if they have any recourse to stop non-paying customers stealing items.
“I own a small restaurant … and for some reason I have been dealing with people who … walk right in and take our napkins, utensils, complimentary tea and candy,” they wrote.
What’s more, they said they had “people steal my salt shakers a couple of times too.”
After confronting someone who walked into his business for a free cup of hot tea, they say they were met with hostility.
“Is this considered theft? Can I report this person to the authorities? What can I do next time something like this happens?” they questioned.
One attorney who replied to the irate business owner recommended signage indicating that only paid patronage entitles guests to complimentary amenities. Additionally, they should have “please leave and do not return” letters handy to dole out to offending visitors. If the same people return to the business, then the owner should notify the police immediately.
Subplot News has reached out to Lyn and Longhorn Steakhouse via email for further comment. We will update this story if they respond.
@jameriatesfaye Like bruh fr? #jameriatesfaye #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – TONY STATOVCI
