Port shop owner shocked by tip-jar thief

Angela Hill said she was shocked last week when someone stole the tip jar off the counter at her Port Washington coffeehouse Java Dock.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “It’s terrible.”

While the estimated $20 to $25 in the jar isn’t a huge amount of money, “It was a significant amount of money” to her staff.

“These are people who were working hard to make money,” she said.

That’s been especially true during the pandemic, Hill said, which has impacted small service businesses like hers hard.

“It’s really hit our industry,” she said. 

The tip jar was stolen about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. It was a busy morning and two people were working the counter that day, Hill said.

One man kept coming in and out of the coffee shop, she said. He let people go ahead of him in line and, at one point, told the woman at the counter he was waiting for his girlfriend.

The man struck when the lobby was deserted and the workers weren’t paying attention — one had gone to the kitchen and the other was making drinks for people at the window and had her back to the counter, Hill said.

“He took the jar, threw it in his sweatshirt and left,” she said, noting his actions were recorded by a security camera in the coffee shop.

“I’m very grateful we have cameras,” Hill said.  “We got them to keep the staff safe. We didn’t think we would need them to catch a thief.”

Hill said they posted photos of the man online and a number of people identified him.

Port Washington police are investigating the incident, Capt. Mike Davel said, but he would not comment on the probe.

The department confirmed in a Facebook post that one suspect in the theft of tip jars from both Java Dock and Dockside Deli between 8:30 and 9:20 a.m. Jan. 14 has been identified based on a number of tips.

The department is aware of a number of similar thefts from businesses throughout Ozaukee County that are being investigated by several law enforcement agencies, it added.

Davel said officials don’t know if all the cases are related.

Hill said the community has rallied behind her business and its employees, both in words and actions.

“There has been an outpouring of support from the community,” she said, noting many people have made donations to replace the funds in the tip jar. “That’s really meant a lot to the staff here.”