Texas pizzeria tips its hat to the highest bidder after petty theft reveals second crime

An unfortunate petty robbery at a Texas pizzeria inadvertently discovered another victim thanks to his good-natured viral social media post.

Stone Oven Pizza in Wichita Falls turned to Facebook when money from its tip jar was stolen and offered an auction to replace employees’ missing dollars.

The teenagers accused of the crime left behind a cowboy hat. So the restaurateurs decided it would be entirely appropriate to use the misplaced hat and recoup the profits.

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“Last night our team encountered an incident where some teenagers stole tips from the tip jar… But luckily they left this hat behind… We’re not a big fan of hats around here , however, we know the great community of Wichita Falls, and we would like to open an auction… The highest bidder by Tuesday afternoon will take home the prize of this authentic cowboy jicama-giga!” says the message.

The company said all profits from the auction would be split equally among the three employees who lost their tips.

What the pizzeria didn’t expect was that this good-natured attempt would uncover the hat’s true owner, who was not one of the teenagers.

An update to the original post showed the same teens broke into a man’s truck and stole the hat.

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“While the owners of Stone Oven were prepared to take on this man in a mutual fight to defend our team’s wages…it was the team members themselves who decided that this man’s head had indeed cold air…we will return the property to its rightful owner…don’t worry, employees received $50 bonuses for selflessness and compassion,” the update reads in part.

The restaurant then bragged about being proud of their city and the support they received after the theft.