ATLANTIC CITY — It’s a classic case of whodunit. Who would take a new table from a nearly century-old business?
Last weekend, as Tony’s Baltimore Grill initiated outdoor dining for the first time to provide its longtime and new customers with a different experience, a patio table, an umbrella and six chairs were stolen from the historic establishment’s outdoor dining area that seats 30 people.
As a way to entice people to help with the search for the stolen goods, Tony’s is offering a free pizza, an alcoholic beverage a week for life and a $1,500 reward. As of Friday afternoon, the stolen items were still missing.
The reward and the theft have gone viral on social media.
The establishment’s Instagram account has dubbed the case “the Atlantic Avenue Furniture Fiasco.” On the account, a drawing of a black cat running from the scene is shown in jest. The three posts related to the theft have more than 1,220 likes as of Friday afternoon.
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“We had a credible tip from a Facebooker who described the suspect to a local forensic sketch artist to help solve this crime,” the post said. “The suspect is short, rude, and smells like hot tuna fish.”
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The posters have even gone as far as asking people to post photos of their own patio furniture.
The bar’s latest Instagram post Friday evening said there was “BREAKING NEWS: A ransom letter just showed up at the joint,” with a picture of a red-and-white ransom letter saying, “5 million pizzas, or the furniture gets it” and promoting new merchandise, sales of which will go toward the purchase of replacement furniture and a donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City.
“Everything that we do is centered on making sure that the Baltimore Grill stays in business for another 100 years,” said the caretakers of Tony’s, Julie and Nolan Aspell, who said the bar’s legacy was as much a part of the city as the Boardwalk. “We decided to do outdoor dining primarily to accomplish that goal of being a place that new memories will be created without disturbing the ones that already live here.”
While many restaurants added outdoor dining to stay afloat during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tony’s Baltimore Grill — in business since 1927 — decided to add the option this summer simply to offer patrons a new experience.
The experience was more than the bar bargained for, and “the thief is still at large,” according to a spokesperson for Tony’s.
The establishment had a soft opening of the new dining area last Friday afternoon, during which guests could get served by the bar’s singing waiter, James.
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Unfortunately by the weekend, the bar had to post an alert on its Instagram page offering the cash reward, pizza and drinks for life in exchange for information about the stolen items.
Outdoor dining is still available at Tony’s from 5 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer.