Son of a Gun Offers Fried Chicken Sandwich Bounty for Toothpick Holder Thief

Here’s a bounty that’s sure to get much of Los Angeles sleuthing: Son of a Gun restaurant on West Third Street is offering 20 free fried chicken sandwiches to anyone who finds and returns a vintage toothpick holder that was brazenly stolen from the restaurant last week.

Chef/owner Jon Shook posted a video on his Instagram page of the theft in action, as taken by one of the restaurant’s security cameras. In it, you can see what appears to be a man walk into the restaurant and immediately start grabbing things off the host stand. Someone quickly comes over to greet him (that’s great service, right there), without realizing the non-customer is in the middle of a botched robbery.

Said thief then does that thing everyone does when they’re not actually interested in a restaurant but just got handed a menu: he pretends to read it very thoughtfully, waiting with one eye up for the waiter to leave. When the coast is clear, the robber snatches the vintage toothpick holder (which seems rather heavy in the video) and bolts. The full video is below.

If the pure act of thievery from such a beloved restaurant isn’t enough to draw out the super-sleuths, perhaps the very real promise of 20 Son of a Gun fried chicken sandwiches is enough. That’s the current bounty being offered for info that leads to the safe return of the actual heirloom item, which belonged to co-owner Vinny Dotolo’s own grandmother. Got info on the heist? Send it directly to the Jon & Vinny’s team, or drop it in the anonymous tipline — Eater will be sure to pass it on.

• Westside Tips Once Again Safe Following Tip Jar Bandit's Arrest in Beverly Hills [ELA]