Beaver Falls restaurant manager says food delivery drivers are dashing and dining

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (KDKA) - You've probably heard about dining and dashing, but what about dashing and then dining with someone else's delivery? 

It has happened twice in one week at Athen's Family Restaurant in Beaver Falls. The manager says people who are supposed to be picking up and delivering orders to customers are also helping themselves to a meal.

Within a matter of days, surveillance cameras have caught DoorDash delivery drivers coming in to pick up orders for customers but also helping themselves to takeout they should not be taking.

Marina Apostolis, the restaurant's manager, reviewed the footage with KDKA-TV.  She pointed to one woman who walks in and walks out with a bag meant for someone else.

"She grabs it, and she leaves. That bag is stolen," Apostolis said.

Apostolis said that incident, which happened Thursday, involved two people.  She said prior to the woman walking in, a man is seen on video eyeing the order that was eventually taken.

"It's just upsetting to see this happen right in front of us," Apostolis said.

The second incident happened Sunday -- same scenario, different DoorDasher.  After that, she decided to go to police.

"It's a hard business and we're doing our best.  To have someone come into our building, and steal in front of us, is devastating," she said.

Athens Family Restaurant on Seventh Avenue has been in business for over 40 years.  Apostolis said they have been working with DoorDash since before the pandemic and currently average between 20 and 50 takeout orders a day.

She said, until recently, they've never had a problem.

"We get the orders ready, we set them on the windowsill and the DoorDash drivers come in and pick up the order and deliver it to the customer."

She said even if they aren't big-ticket orders being taken, they can't afford to constantly remake the food that is taken instead of delivered and they don't want their loyal customers to incur the cost of the crime.

"We're trying our best to do what we can do to make it affordable, to make it a nice experience and people like this are just destroying it," Apostolis said.

When asked if she thought maybe this was a case of an unfortunate carryout coincidence or mix-up, Apostolis had no doubt it was an intentional act.

"It happened more than once; it's happened in town.  I don't believe it."

Apostolis has turned over the footage to Beaver Falls police. Right now, it is unclear what charges the people in the video could face, but police said they are investigating.

KDKA-TV reached out to DoorDash but didn't hear back by airtime.