Last Saturday at the San Marino restaurant in England’s North West, a shocking scene played out. The pair, who police claim ran a large-scale scam, left employees and customers shocked and confused. The couple of diners ordered multiple meals, but they attempted to scam the restaurant out of money. They accused us of butchering their filet mignon so they wouldn’t have to pay their $139 check.
The pair not only enjoyed a glass of wine — they shared a rare, delightful meal. They enjoyed an amazing meal of penne San Marino pasta, chargrilled lamb shish kebab, garlic bread, Caesar salad, still and sparkling water, and dessert with a great Coca-Cola. I asked if their meal began without issue. They later reported “discovering a shard of broken glass amid the woman’s food.” Surveillance footage from inside the restaurant tells a much darker story. The couple had allegedly inserted the glass on their own.
According to the restaurant employees, the surveillance video shows the man simply pulling a glass out of his pocket. He passes it over to the lady and she puts it in her napkin. Afterwards, they went to the city staff and made their charge.
“Everybody was in shock. The staff became concerned and called the manager on call. He got there on time and immediately asked what was wrong, Miraz Yolcu, managing director of San Marino. “The first meal, they told us that they’re not going to pay for this meal.
The couple’s actions prompted immediate concern for the restaurant’s reputation. Yolcu explained the gravity of the situation. “It’s not too often that it happens, but when it does, it puts an enormous amount of stress to staff. That’s a serious charge that would implicate law enforcement and environmental public health,” he said. Scams like these are tremendously harmful to small, honest businesses like ours.
The San Marino restaurant quickly reported the suspicious behavior to Cheshire Police who began an investigation. The police have publicly stated that they are investigating the issue as a matter of urgency. The restaurant shared the CCTV footage on Facebook to raise awareness about the scam and protect other businesses from similar experiences.
CCTV footage was the first time for me to see it,” Yolcu said. They were accompanied with their daughter, but they’re not embarrassed. They didn’t have a reservation. They would come up to us and tell us how much they needed food, so we really took a joy in ushering them to a table.
She stressed that the couple seemed well-practiced in carrying out such cons. He added, “She was looking at all the cameras that surrounded her.” This indicated it may not have been their first try under false pretenses.
In response to their claims, Yolcu explained that the found glass was not from their kitchen. Tough luck, doesn’t cut it. You can’t find that glass hiding in the food. This is not this glass that you’d find in a kitchen sink,” he said in no uncertain terms.
The pasting up of flyers has business owners in the area worried about someone trying to run a scam on small businesses. If they’re serious they will check these things and if they’re not they’ll be surprised,” Yolcu said. Otherwise, if they were just lying they would be terribly frightened.
The San Marino restaurant is fighting hard to defend its good name. They are equally committed to the safety of their patrons while this investigation continues to unfold. As the fallout from this incident serves as a reminder, it is also a call to action to protect small businesses from the vulnerabilities they face in today’s growing digital ecosystem.
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