Couple Dined & Dashed at Grand Opening of Northfield Restaurant

Wednesday was the grand opening for the new Northfield location of Lil Saigon Restaurant. It was also the first time they were victims of a "dine & dash" by customers in their new location.

The Vietnamese restaurant, formally in the Exchange location in Linwood, had been working for several months to fix up the former spot of Friendly's on Tilton Road in Northfield.

Since the radio station is just down the street, I have been watching as the restaurant staff made improvements and prepared their new home for business. The big day arrived Wednesday, and, by all accounts, things went pretty well for the eatery, except for the dine-and-dash couple.

Thursday morning, I saw this Facebook post from the Lil Saigon...

As you all know, we had our grand opening just yesterday. I would like to remind everyone that we are a family business and take pride in what we do and work very hard on what we do. Unfortunately there are people who still like to take advantage of us by dinning and dashing. To the couple who took the time to dine with us and plan your escape, we have it all on camera. From the time you came in, sat down, ate, planned your escape, and snuck out. Yes, there is a police report being filed. We are not the type to make posts like this but, we believe other businesses should be warned of these people. Thank you to all who came out yesterday and thank you everyone for your patience. We are still learning and doing our best to serve you the best we can

Having worked in the restaurant business quite a bit in the past, I know what a financial drain it is on restaurants when people run out without paying their bills.

The idea that people would eat in a restaurant during its grand opening day planning to dine and dash is absolutely deplorable.

As Lil Saigon's Facebook post says, they are a family business that has worked hard to open this new location and they were excited to serve their first guests. The fact that this incident has taken the spotlight away from their opening is sad and inexcusable.

Good luck to Lil Saigon on making their new restaurant a success and to having customers who deserve a good meal and came expecting to pay for it.