Surveillance footage on social media aids Phlavz Bar & Grille in University Village, Chicago to identify dine-and-dash suspects

CHICAGO (WLS) — With the summer-like weather, we are in important time for local restaurateurs to make revenue from outdoor dining.

When some would-be patrons left without paying their bill, some local business owners took to social media.

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The outdoor patio is all set at Phlavz Bar & Grille in University Village.

Three individuals were captured on surveillance cameras leaving a restaurant without paying their $200 bill for a meal consisting of shrimp and lobster on Monday evening, as reported by the establishment’s owners.

Expressing disappointment, co-owner Andrew Bonsu remarked, “It’s actually disappointing, very disappointing to see that from the community we actually serve. We pour into the community.”

Co-owner Phil Simpson highlighted the impact on their staff, stating, “The young lady that was serving that table, she’s got kids at home. She gets a percentage of that tip. She worked hard to serve that table. They had a lot of food. We are a small business, and you see this happen so often to different small businesses throughout the city, and you have to do something.”

So, they posted on social media.

Simpson and Bonsu say it was not long before people identified the trio online.

Simpson said he has been texting one of them, and someone actually offered to pay their bill, but he says it is a bigger issue of would-be patrons taking from the servers and this Black-owned business that struggles to keep prices affordable despite the cost of goods and services going up.

“They apologized. They sent someone to pay the bill, but I declined to accept it. At that point, we are going to pursue this the right way,” Simpson said.

Sam Toia is the president of the Illinois Restaurant Association. He says this theft known as “dine and dash” has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic, and outdoor dining establishments see even more this time of year.

“We see this dine and dash really hurt the independent restaurants,” Toia said. “It definitely ticks up in the summer months, and in Chicago, what do we get? Maybe 60 days of great weather, maybe you can eat outside.”

The owners say they made a report to the University of Illinois-Chicago police.

“For us to put our hard-earned money into this and set this up for our community, to see things like this happening, it’s tasteless,” Bonsu said.

“It’s important at least let them know Phlavz is not going to be tolerating the dine-and-dash,” Simpson said.

ABC7 reached out to UIC police, who said a report has been filed for Theft of Labor or Services.

In the meantime, the owners hope that word on social media spreads, so that those who might be tempted to dine and dash will consider who is being hurt.