A Wyoming restaurant owner took matters into her own hands after a family of four allegedly ate $130 worth of food before running out without paying.
Zoey Aldahash, owner of Sweet Zoey Mediterranean restaurant in Casper, said the group ordered appetizers, drinks, entrees and desserts during lunch last May.
'They ate everything, appetizers, drinks, sweets, mains, everything,' Aldahash told news organization Cowboy State Daily.
'Then the four of them stood up in the same moment together, they walked to the door, and once they opened the door, they ran to the car.'
Rather than call the police, Aldahash posted a security camera image of the group on the restaurant's Facebook page and asked the community for help identifying them.
'Today at Sweet Zoey's, a family came in, ate and drank about $130 worth of food, then left without paying,' she wrote.
'As a small local restaurant, this really hurts. That food is not "just food" - it is labor, ingredients, bills, and the hard work of our team.'
Aldahash said she was not looking for 'drama' and left the possibility open that the group had made a mistake.
Sweet Zoey Mediterranean restaurant in Casper, Wyoming, was allegedly targeted by a family of four who left without paying a $130 bill
Restaurant owner Zoey Aldahash shared surveillance footage of the four customers after she said they ate their entire meal before running to their car without paying
'If this was a mistake, please contact us and make it right,' she wrote.
The post sparked debate among locals, with some urging Aldahash to report the incident to the police and others suggesting the restaurant require customers to pay before receiving their food.
One customer even offered to cover half of the unpaid bill, while another offered to pay the entire tab.
But others criticized Aldahash for posting the surveillance image, particularly because two members of the group appeared to be teenagers.
Casper Police Department spokesman Rebekah Ladd also cautioned against immediately posting suspected dine-and-dashers online, saying it could lead to misidentification, harassment or false accusations.
'Businesses should be especially cautious when juveniles may be involved … particularly when the full circumstances are not known,' Ladd told Cowboy State Daily.
Aldahash said she chose not to contact the police because of a previous dine-and-dash at Sweet Zoey in 2024.
She said five customers ordered multiple entrees before leaving without paying. Aldahash filed a police report but claimed her requests for updates went unanswered and nothing came of the case.
'In my previous experience, calling the police didn't work,' she said. 'There was no help, so I didn't contact the police the second time.'
Aldahash (left) chose to turn to social media rather than police after claiming a previous dine-and-dash report in 2024 went nowhere
Casper police receive only around 20 to 30 dine-and-dash reports each year, according to Ladd, although other restaurant owners told the outlet they do not always report the incidents.
Aldahash, an Iraqi native and former architectural engineer, built Sweet Zoey after starting out by selling homemade baklava at a farmers market.
Growing demand eventually pushed her into a commercial kitchen before she opened the full-service restaurant on CY Avenue in 2022.
Despite the unpaid tab, Aldahash said the response from loyal customers had been heartening.
'Sometimes it's like you don't know if you want to cry or smile,' she said.
The four customers have not been identified and the $130 bill remains unpaid.
'You come in and order this much, and just leave without paying?' Aldahash said. 'Who are these people?'
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Casper Police Department and Sweet Zoey Mediterranean for comment.
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