A cafe in Essendon, north Melbourne, has appealed to the public for help identifying a pedestrian who shoved a plate into a worker's face, causing a chipped tooth. The incident occurred on Tuesday and was captured on CCTV footage shared by La Vallee cafe on social media.
Incident Details
The footage shows a waitress carrying plates around a corner when the woman, walking in the opposite direction, nearly collided with her. The woman then pushed the plate upward into the waitress's face and subsequently slapped the remaining plates to the ground.
La Vallee expressed shock at the behavior, stating, 'We are beyond shocked at the behavior of this grown woman.' The cafe urged followers to share the video and help identify the suspect, saying, 'This incident led to one of our beautiful staff members chipping their tooth from the plate she pushed into her face.'
Community Response
The video garnered thousands of views and shares, with many condemning the woman's actions. Comments included hopes for the staff member's recovery and calls for justice. One user wrote, 'Hope your staff member is okay and hope the woman is caught.' Another said, 'Why did no one stop her? Citizen arrests need to happen more.'
Billionaire Melbourne local Adrian Portelli commented, 'This behaviour needs to be stamped out. It doesn't belong here.'
Local Business Support
Several local businesses offered assistance. Healthy Smiles on Keilor Road, Niddrie, volunteered to fix the waitress's front tooth free of charge, stating, 'This is disgusting behaviour... your lovely waitress shouldn't have to go through this.' Sear Steakhouse invited the staff member for a complimentary meal after dental treatment, saying, 'When Healthy Smiles gets her teeth sorted, bring her down the road for some steaks with her family on us. Keilor road will stand together.'
No charges have been laid in connection with the incident. Daily Mail has contacted La Vallee for further comment.
