A small restaurant owner in Casper, Wyoming, turned to her community after she said a family of four walked out on a $130 lunch bill without paying.
Zoey Aldahash, who owns Sweet Zoey Mediterranean restaurant, said the group visited the eatery last May and ordered a full meal that included appetizers, drinks, main dishes and desserts.
‘They ate everything, appetizers, drinks, sweets, mains, everything,’ Aldahash told Cowboy State Daily.
‘Then the four of them stood up in the same moment together, they walked to the door, and once they opened the door, they ran to the car.’
Instead of immediately contacting law enforcement, Aldahash shared a still image from the restaurant’s security camera on Sweet Zoey’s Facebook page, asking local residents to help identify the diners.
‘Today at Sweet Zoey’s, a family came in, ate and drank about $130 worth of food, then left without paying,’ she wrote.
‘As a small local restaurant, this really hurts. That food is not “just food” – it is labor, ingredients, bills, and the hard work of our team.’
Aldahash stressed that she was not trying to stir up ‘drama,’ and she acknowledged there was still a chance the group’s departure could have been an honest mistake.
Sweet Zoey Mediterranean restaurant in Casper, Wyoming, was allegedly targeted by a family of four who left without paying a $130 bill
Restaurant owner Zoey Aldahash shared surveillance footage of the four customers after she said they ate their entire meal before running to their car without paying
‘If this was a mistake, please contact us and make it right,’ she wrote.
The post sparked debate among locals, with some urging Aldahash to report the incident to police and others suggesting the restaurant require customers to pay before receiving their food.
One customer even offered to cover half of the unpaid bill, while another offered to pay the entire tab.
But others criticized Aldahash for posting the surveillance image, particularly because two members of the group appeared to be teenagers.
Casper Police Department spokeswoman Rebekah Ladd also cautioned against immediately posting suspected dine-and-dashers online, saying it could lead to misidentification, harassment or false accusations.
‘Businesses should be especially cautious when juveniles may be involved … particularly when the full circumstances are not known,’ Ladd told Cowboy State Daily.
Aldahash said she chose not to contact police because of a previous dine-and-dash at Sweet Zoey in 2024.
She said five customers ordered multiple entrees before leaving without paying. Aldahash filed a police report but claimed her requests for updates went unanswered and nothing came of the case.
‘In my previous experience, calling the police didn’t work,’ she said. ‘There was no help, so I didn’t contact the police the second time.’
Owner Zoey Aldahash (left) chose to turn to social media rather than police after claiming a previous dine-and-dash report in 2024 went nowhere
Casper police receive only around 20 to 30 dine-and-dash reports each year, according to Ladd, although other restaurant owners told the outlet they do not always report the incidents.
Aldahash, an Iraqi native and former architectural engineer, built Sweet Zoey after starting out selling homemade baklava at a farmers market.
Growing demand eventually pushed her into a commercial kitchen before she opened the current full-service restaurant on CY Avenue in 2022.
Despite the unpaid tab, Aldahash said the response from loyal customers had been heartening.
‘Sometimes it’s like you don’t know if you want to cry or smile,’ she said.
The four customers have not been identified and the $130 bill remains unpaid.
‘You come in and order this much, and just leave without paying?’ Aldahash said. ‘Who are these people?’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Casper Police Department and Sweet Zoey Mediterranean for comment.
