Woman commits extremely brazen theft at Fort Worth coffee shop, prompting $500 reward
Plant owners beware — there is a thief in our midst.
The victim? A gorgeous Fiddle Leaf Fig stolen from Ampersand coffee shop in Fort Worth, snatched in broad daylight in what was admittedly a pretty bold move.
Sometime in the past two weeks, someone noticed that the shop’s beloved fig was missing. The healthy, 4-foot-tall plant usually stood in the corner of the shop at 3025 S. University Drive, but the week of Nov. 8, Ampersand workers realized it was missing. The white pot that housed it remained behind, plantless.
Given the improbability that the fig decided to seek greener pastures on its own accord, management reviewed surveillance footage to figure out what happened, operating partner Toan Luong said.
The footage revealed a strangely brazen theft — a woman seated in the coffee shop near the plant suddenly stands up, grabs the fig by the trunk and walks out the door with it. No one seems to notice the plant-napping, which lasts about two seconds.
“It’s so random, but so funny at the same time,” Luong said. “We’re just trying to make the best of the situation honestly.”
Ampersand’s marketing team created a TikTok about the plant theft. TikTok is a social media platform where users upload videos up to one minute in length. Ampersand’s TikTok begins with a shot of the fig, minding its own business in the shop.
“Our tall health fiddle leaf fig,” words on the screen read, followed by the heart eyes emoji.
The scene cuts to the moment of the theft — the woman picks up her iPhone from the table, swipes the plant and casually fast-walks out to the sidewalk.
“That we no longer have because she stole it,” the screen says, accompanied by an emoji that looks utterly crestfallen.
The video is set to the 2011 gospel single, “Walking” by Mary Mary.
Ampersand posted the TikTok video Sunday. By Tuesday, it had garnered half a million likes and nearly 9,000 comments.
“The plant people have been pretty vocal on the TikTok,” Luong said.
Those in the comments demand the perpetrator be found and express their condolences for the theft.
The caption for the video indicates there is a $500 reward for the fig. Luong assured the Star-Telegram that the offer is genuine.
“We had that plant since we began the shop. That’s why it’s so significant for us,” he said.
If you have any information about this plant-napping, you can contact Ampersand at info@ampersandfw.com.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 6:02 PM.
