EASTON, Pa. — A longtime café in Easton had its tip jar stolen.
“All the customers, we’re in the heart of Easton so everybody knows what we’ve been doing for all this time,” says Manuel Fresneva, owner of Terra Café.
Terra Café has been in business for 17 years, but what happened this week was a first.
The restaurant’s owners say on Monday just before 4:30, two young people were hanging around the shop, one on the inside and one out.
“Finally, about 4:25 is when they came in, one stayed outside, one came in and asked for a glass of water,” says Marcel Bedoya, owner of Terra Café.
Security video shows when the barista turned her head to pour the water, this individual grabbed the tip jar and ran out.
“It was the baristas’ money and that’s what’s more painful, because they work all day and they work hard,” Bedoya said.
“It was almost a little hurtful to find out that the money was stolen because of all places, I wouldn’t expect it to happen here in Easton,” says Isabella Espinoza, barista.
Since the theft, the community has stepped up.
“Thanks to the community for coming back and overtipping to make up for the lost money,” Bedoya said.
Besides sending a message of thanks to their customers, the owners also want to send a message to the person who took the tip jar.
“So what we really want is we want to identify who it was and we want to be able to help him… We don’t want the money back, that’s not what we’re looking for, we’re trying to identify a young person that needs help and hopefully get him some help, that’s what we really want,” Bedoya said.