This browser does not support the Video element.
Virginia restaurant owner searches for repeat dine-and-dasher
A repeat dine-and-dasher is hitting one Fairfax County restaurant and he's getting away with it using a loophole. FOX 5's Shirin Rajaee has the story.
FAIRFAX, Va. - A Fairfax restaurant owner has taken to social media in hopes of catching a thief who has been stealing food using DoorDash.
Alex Kang, the owner of Okonomi Asian Grill of Fairfax Boulevard, says he's frustrated after multiple instances of a man ordering food for pickup from his restaurant through DoorDash, arriving at the business, then canceling the order — after taking the food with him.
He’s posted photos and videos of the suspect on Instagram, hoping that someone recognizes him. Kang has even offered up a reward of $150 to the first person who provides information that leads to the arrest of the suspect.
"You just need to provide verifiable information that leads me to actually getting this guy, and you’ll get $150," Kang wrote.
Kang says he's contacted DoorDash multiple times about the issue but so far, he says he’s encountered hours-long wait times and has had difficulty getting refunded for the stolen food.
"DoorDash has responded with a lot of automated responses," Kang told FOX 5. "It takes about two to three hours to even get compensated for the transaction."
He's also been in contact with Fairfax Police and given the aliases the man has used to order the food but he says he knows the department is understaffed and responding to hundreds of incidents each day.
"The police can only do so much. It’s such a small amount…it’s a misdemeanor, it’s a class one misdemeanor at best," he said. "They’re doing the best they can."
But the financial burden of each theft impacts his small business in a big way.
"Every single bowl that is lost like this, it takes 10 other bowls to replace that," Kang said. "At the end of the day, DoorDash is not losing out in this at all. They didn’t put in the work. They’re not the ones paying my employees. They’re not the ones making the food," Kang said.
Kang believes the suspect is in his 20s, about 6’ to 6’2", weighing around 170 pounds. He says the man has been showing up to his restaurant in a silver/gray BMW.
To the thief and others who run similar schemes, he says "do better."
"In their minds, they’re thinking ‘oh yeah, you know, like, DoorDash is losing out," Kang said. "But it’s like, no, I, the business partner, am actually losing out because DoorDash puts the blame on me. That’s the thing that they don’t see or they’re not aware of."
Anyone with information can DM Okonomi Asian Grill on Instagram.