The FIFA frenzy in downtown Vancouver is filling tables, bars, and patios, but some diners are not sticking around to pay the bill.
Despite business booming as the city hosts the FIFA World Cup, some restaurant owners say they are not only seeing a rise in foot traffic but also a rise in dining-and-dashing.
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Security footage from Thai Town, a restaurant on Granville Street, shows a couple dining, scanning the restaurant, and then making a run for it.
Staff say the pair left behind an unpaid bill of about $60.
“They just run away, so we cannot do anything. Just surprised why it happened; it has never happened before,” said Nida Jaruwatanadit, the owner of Thai Town.
Other businesses along the strip say they have seen similar behaviour with more guests over the last couple of weeks conveniently “forgetting” to pay before slipping out.
“People definitely sometimes think they can get away with things because they’re not like at home, for example, and I think that they might try and play it off, but we do see people thinking they can get away with this stuff because they’re in a different country,” said Martin Malcolm, general manager of 1017 on Granville Street.
The Shamrock Storehouse on Granville Street is using strategies from back home to prevent dine and dashers from targeting them.
“We do an Irish Bar Service here. Back home there is not a lot of table service at bars, a lot of walking up, get your own drink, and pay for when you get it, we do that on our patio when its busy and inside all the time, so that eliminates the opportunity for a dine and dash to happen as they are paying for their food and drink before they receive it, we protect ourselves in that way,” explained Mark Clancy, bar manager at Shamrock Storehouse.
And that is advice Jaruwatanadit might take.
“Maybe I use this, especially during late-night times.”
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has not noticed an increase in reports but says that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
“What we are urging people to do is: if you see it, report it. At the very least, we can flag this area for potential dine and dashers. Get as much information as you can about that person, their description if they are driving a car, what’s their plate, that allows us to track them down and do something about it,” said Darren Wong, media relations officer at the VPD.
Jaruwatanadit tells CityNews that she is not only surprised by dine-and-dashers. Some visitors are even asking for free meals while in town for the World Cup.
“They prepare everything for accommodation, travelling, but the meal they didn’t prepare; they didn’t keep a budget for that. They ask for complimentary, why is that not in the budget?”
Despite all of it, Nida is still happy with the foot traffic and sense of community she has seen.
“It’s amazing, visitors come alone, and then they don’t know each other, and then they have a friend in the restaurant, a friend on the street,” she added.
For now, she is just hoping that the next guests they welcome will treat them as fairly as they are treated.
