Man Arrested for ‘Dining and Dashing’ After Facebook Shaming Is Lucky He Wasn’t Punished More Severely

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by Adriana Velez 5 hours ago

Remember Mr. Dine and Dash, the guy who got called out on Facebook for skipping out on his restaurant bill? The restaurant, Brewster's Cabinet, asked their fans to call Reno police if they happened to spot the man in the photo they posted. Well, you will be pleased to hear that the accused dasher, Saul Zelaznog, has been arrested -- and it turns out Brewster's Cabinet wasn't the only place in town he'd stiffed.

Zelaznog was technically arrested for a probation violation, though he may have to answer for skipping out on his bill in restaurants throughout Reno. Which he can explain! Here's what Zelaznog has to say for himself.

In reference to the most recent incident at Brewster's, he claims he forgot to bring his wallet, but that he planned to pay that bill eventually, really he did. And that one time he skipped out on another restaurant bill? He totally left his watch as collateral. "I'm not trying to burn bridges around town," Zelaznog says. Yeah, funny thing, 'cause that's exactly what you're doing here. "This is a small little town," he added, as if this just occurred to him. WHY YES, IT IS, ISN'T IT, say all the restaurant owners and employers he's pissed off.

Of course, Zelaznog (or "Gonzalez," as he sometimes calls himself -- he can figure out how to spell his last name backwards, but he can't seem to remember his wallet, ever?) is innocent until proven guilty. But he does seem to have quite the following in Reno. If all these accusations are true, then it's about time Gonzalezelaznog or whatever his name is took some responsibility for his careless actions.

Profit margins at restaurants are notoriously slim. And restaurant workers work incredibly hard. No one gets a free ride, not if the rest of the honest patrons are paying their share. Saul is lucky he's not getting run out of town on a rail, old wild west-style.

In general I'm a little squeamish over the whole idea of shaming restaurant customers and workers via social media. I think it can go terribly wrong. People can be falsely accused, restaurant workers can get fired, restaurants can get death threats -- it can backfire. But sometimes justice is served. I don't know ... are all those other mistakes and slights worth catching this one guy? Maybe, maybe not.

Do you think restaurant customers should get shamed via Facebook or Twitter?

Image via Brewster's Cabinet/Facebook

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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