The start of each semester means an increase in stolen cutlery for local restaurants, said Alex Vanis, manager of Coral Gables, 2838 E. Grand River Ave.

“If you lose silverware or salt shakers at the beginning of the term, what does that tell you?” Vanis said. “It’s kids living in apartments that need silverware.”

Utensils aren’t the only items that have been lifted from Coral Gables. Vanis said some of the strangest thefts he’s experienced are a painting off of the wall and a poinsettia at Christmas time.

David Finkbeiner, co-owner of Hershey’s Steak & Seafood, 2682 E. Grand River Ave., said losses in inventory from theft can result in as much as $1,000 per year that owners of the restaurant need to pay back themselves.

“A lot of times, you really don’t notice anyone taking things until they’re gone,” Finkbeiner said. “But then three months later, we don’t have enough silverware to stock the restaurant.”

Finkbeiner said that although theft in the restaurant is not common, strange items have been pilfered.

The candy bowl at the front counter, for instance, has gone missing so many times it had to be glued to the counter, he said.

Utensils are very commonly thrown away by accident, said Erica Sorrells, general manager of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, 2450 Coolidge Road.

“Servers and bussers that just don’t even look up go and dump stuff in the trash,” Sorrells said.

Sorrells said that on an average day, the restaurant will find six knives, four forks, eight spoons and 12 condiment holders in the trash.

Theft and throwaways lead to about $1,200 annually or about $100 per month in item replacement costs, Sorrells said. The costs come out of the restaurant’s profits because they do not have insurance on silverware.

A very common item stolen from Applebee’s is large drinking glasses that are used for alcoholic beverages, Sorrells said.

“They’re taken especially by girls that have big purses or guys put them in their coat,” she said.

Cafeteria theft

On campus, most of the items stolen from cafeterias are returned per request at the end of each semester, said Angela Brown, director of University Housing.

“We ask that they not take items out of the cafeteria, but they do,” Brown said. “But we get a lot of them back.”

Students who are caught taking items out of the cafeteria are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, Brown said.

Brown said that many cafeteria items are left in dorm rooms at the end of the semester or returned to the dining room.

MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said if the police were alerted of a theft in the cafeteria, they would respond and deal with it like any other type of theft, she said.

Involving authorities

Regardless of price, restaurant theft is wrong and should be punishable, said second-year law student Jason Augsburger.

“It doesn’t matter if it cost a penny for the salt shaker or it’s a really classy restaurant and they paid a lot for the salt shaker,” Augsburger said. “It’s taking property away from that restaurant, so it’s no different than somebody walking in your house and taking a fork or something away without your permission.”

El Azteco, 225 Ann St., loses several silverware items to theft each month, said manager Lupe Holguin.

If someone were caught stealing, Holguin said they would be confronted.

“I would stop them,” she said. “My employees would stop them, too.”

Holguin said she would talk to the person before involving police.

Aaron Weiner, general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, 360 Albert Ave., said that while employees would not chase someone if they were caught walking out with stolen items, the police would be called.

“It’s not a major issue, but theft is everywhere,” Weiner said. “If somebody steals something, we have to buy it again.”

While reports of restaurant theft in the area are infrequent, they do happen, East Lansing police Sgt. Scott Wriggelsworth said.

“We get reports sometimes of tip jars stolen, and we’ve had common dine-and-dash people who come in and skip out without paying,” Wriggelsworth said. “I wouldn’t say it’s common, but we do respond to those occasionally.”

Wriggelsworth said restaurants in downtown East Lansing are subject to theft more than others because of alcohol consumption.

“When people are intoxicated and not thinking right, they might forget or leave extra money so they think they can grab stuff,” he said.

Buying cheaper silverware has helped keep costs down at Coral Gables, Vanis said.

“We don’t buy sterling silver anymore, that’s for sure,” he said.