Thief steals sentimental item from popular restaurant

<p>A thief ripped off a popular restaurant in Highlands.</p>

News 12 Staff

Nov 15, 2017, 3:39 AM

Updated 2,362 days ago

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A thief ripped off a popular restaurant in Highlands.
The restaurant owners tell News 12 New Jersey that although the monetary value of what was taken was small, the sentimental value is priceless.
Owners Chris and Alexandria Atamian say that the thief stole $21 that was framed on the wall of the Porcini Restaurant. The frame contained a $1 bill from the grand opening and a $20 bill that one of the first customers signed.
“We wanted this little Jersey Shore BYOB. And it was a dream of ours for so many years,” says Alexandria Atamian. “The money symbolizes part of that memory."
The Atamians opened the restaurant a little over two years ago. They noticed the frame was missing about a week ago. A police report was filed.
The owners say that they hope whoever took the frame returns it.
“I don't think that it was malicious. I think that maybe it was some type of prank or something like that,” Atamian says. “We're hoping one way or another, if it is still out there, that someone will do right thing and return it to us.”
The Atamians say that they plan to put a picture of the grand opening in the missing frame’s place until the “good luck bills” are returned.
The restaurant owners got married over the summer. They are warning other businesses and residents to be careful about potential thieves.


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