Delivery driver steals tip jar from Brady St. restaurant, business owner says

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A restaurant on Milwaukee's east side was caught off guard by a delivery driver picking up more than just his order.

Twisted Plants owner Brandon Hawthorne said an Uber Eats delivery driver stole the restaurant's tip jar around 12:40 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.

Hawthorne said he didn't notice the jar was missing until another customer tried to leave a tip and asked where the jar was.

"We knew we started with a tip jar," Hawthorne said. "For it to just disappear, we didn't know what happened."

Security video shows the man walking into the restaurant on Brady Street. The man grabbed the order from the cashier at the counter and walked away.

When he came back, the cashier had her back turned. The man grabbed the tip jar and walked out of the restaurant.

Hawthorne said there was about $40 inside the jar at the time.

"It's honestly just a principle," Hawthorne said. "You don't have the right to come in and take what someone else has worked hard for."

Hawthorne said he isn't planning on filing a police report.

"If you needed it, you needed it, but at the end of the day it wasn't yours to take," Hawthorne said.

Fellow east side businesses and community members are rallying around the restaurant by replacing their cash and sending tips virtually through Venmo and Cash App.

"We definitely appreciate the community coming forward," Hawthorne said. "Whenever you get a chance, just support your local businesses."