Dine & Dash Heroes
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN
Diners at the popular La Bella Vista restaurant in Grand Parade, St Leonards, last Saturday evening (12 October) witnessed a violent attack which resulted in extensive damage to the premises and left some staff battered and bruised.
The incident happened when a couple refused to pay their bill. When challenged by restaurant owner Aldo Esposito, there was a violent confrontation. Tables were overturned and plates and glasses were broken. The main glass door was also kicked in leaving shards of glass strewn across the floor and on the pavement outside.
The couple left the building but returned to inflict further damage. After numerous phone calls from staff and other guests caught up in the commotion, it took 25 minutes for the police to arrive,and order was restored.
Mr Esposito suffered a dislocated finger and was left with a series of cuts and bruises to his face. Restaurant manager, Kat Cmokova, and Hamish Mowat, a new member of the staff, both suffered similar cuts and bruises in heroically protecting diners from the turmoil.
Sussex Police arrested a 39-year-old woman from Crawley on suspicion of causing criminal damage and common assault. She has since been bailed. Officers are still trying to identify the second suspect with the aid of the restaurant’s extensive CCTV system.
The incident is the latest in what is becoming known as “dine and dash” robberies, where guests enjoy a meal with drinks and then leave before paying their bills. Across the country it is estimated that one in 20 people have walked out of a restaurant without paying.
Dine and dash incidents are becoming more frequent. Mr Esposito has experienced four cases in the last 12 months, and he knows of other restaurant owners in the area who have endured similar ordeals. He indicated that there is a common pattern used by diners to avoid paying their bills. In addition to the more common dine and dash, where guests eat their meal and then scarper without paying, Mr Esposito says there are two other approaches. The first involves food allergies. When diners are asked when ordering their food if they have any allergies, they later claim they had not understood that their meal would include an ingredient to which one of the party was allergic. The second approach involves planting a non-food item in their meal and then complaining about hygiene standards in the kitchen. In both types of cases, the guests refuse to pay their bills, leaving the restaurants to pick up the often hefty tabs because the police are reluctant to intervene on the grounds that it is a civil and not a criminal matter.
Mr Esposito is setting up a WhatsApp group of local restaurant and café owners to warn each other of any potential threats and to share information about known dine and dash individuals.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact Sussex Police.
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