Staff at a Windsor restaurant aimed at helping people with mental illnesses is devastated following a theft of its tip jar.
On Sunday around 12pm, two people walked in to the Ten Friends Diner at Wyandotte and Moy and ordered food, but before the food came out, they grabbed the tip jar on the cashier counter and took off.
There was about $80 in the jar.
The restaurant employs people with mental illnesses and staff were upset by the theft.
"It is kinda devastating for us," says client Gerald Newman. "We are not paid minimum wage through the program and when someone takes our tips like that, it is just ruinous to us."
He says some of the other customers in the restaurant stepped up to help.
"We did have one customer come and give us a $50 bill after the theft," says Newman. "He felt so bad that they had taken the money, so the community came out and supported us once again and we ended up having tips at the end of the day."
But Newman admits the theft put staff on edge.
"We are looking nervous about the new cafe that we are going to open in the evening, because we are wondering with the neighbourhood, if this could happen again."
Windsor police were called.
Newman says the only description they got of the suspects was it was one man and one black woman.
Ten Friends Diner tip jar (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
Executive Director Carolyn Burton says, 'it is very sad that these two people felt the need to rob from our employees. They work very hard for their wage and it is a very unfortunate incident.'