Texas pizzeria’s viral post about tip-stealing teens unexpectedly cracking a completely different case
A Texas pizzeria in Wichita Falls faced a dilemma when a group of teenagers swiped money from their tip jar. However, instead of just accepting the loss, the clever employees at Stone Oven Pizza devised a unique plan to recover the stolen funds, ultimately uncovering another victim of the same group of thieves.
The staff took to Facebook to share their ordeal and their innovative solution. They revealed that the teenage culprits had left behind a cowboy hat at the scene of the crime. Seeing an opportunity, the pizzeria decided to auction off the hat to replenish the stolen tips. Their Facebook post read, "Last night, our crew ran into an incident where some teenagers stole the tips out of the tip jar… However, luckily enough, they left this hat… We’re not a big fan of hats around here, however, we know the beautiful community of Wichita Falls is, and we would like to open up an auction."
The post continued, "The highest bidder by Tuesday afternoon will win the prize of this authentic cowboy jicama-giga! All proceeds will be divided evenly between the three team members that lost out on Tips last night! And balance will be restored to the Multiverse!"
In a surprising turn of events, the viral post not only helped the pizzeria recover their stolen tips but also led them to the rightful owner of the tan-hued Justin Bent Rail cowboy hat. It was revealed that the hat had been stolen from the owner's truck by the same group of teenagers who targeted the pizzeria.
The update on Facebook stated, "What this attention also did was allow us to find the original owner of the hat… not the teenager that dropped it, but the gentleman whose truck was broken into that those kids had stolen it from. It was the team members themselves that decided this man’s head was indeed looking cold… we will be returning the property to its rightful owner."
Although the hat could no longer be auctioned off, the pizzeria ensured that the employees affected by the theft were taken care of. They announced, "Do not worry the employees have been given $50 bonuses for altruism and compassion. Not a bad result compared to the $20 that punk kid ran off with," accompanied by a laughing emoji.
The owner of the recovered hat, Micheal Jones, expressed his gratitude on Facebook, stating, "Hate how all this went down, but found my hat that [was] stolen out of my truck… and it made the Today show. Great community involvement, and everyone chipping in to make sure the workers were taken care!"