Shocking footage has captured the moment a restaurant reportedly threw signs at bar staff after being asked to pay a bank holiday surcharge for its meal.
The man reportedly blew up about the extra expense after enjoying a few meals with his partner at the Whiskey Business Cafe in Capalaba, west of Brisbane, last Monday.
When told about the 15 per cent fee to be paid for eating out on Ekka People’s Day – the name given to The Royal Queensland Show Day – he refused to pay it.
CCTV footage showed him allegedly arguing with staff, then marching off, picking up a meal and launching it across the counter at staff, before throwing a second plate.
Cafe owner Kylie Baker told Daily Mail Australia that a sign was missing her head “by an inch, two inches at most.”
A customer was furious after being asked for a holiday surcharge on top of the cost of two meals at a cafe in Redlands
While Whiskey Business owner Kylie Baker dodged the flying plates, she claimed a young member of staff was hit in the leg by a shattered plate. Pictured is Mrs. Baker (left)
CCTV footage showed the man picking up a plate, slamming staff across the counter and then doing the same with a second meal
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my 30 years of working in the industry,” she said.
“He was hostile from the start.”
While Mrs. Baker dodged the flying plates, a young member of staff was hit, though uninjured.
“Billy was hit in the leg by one of the shattered plates but he’s fine,” Ms Baker told customers on the café’s Facebook page.
The customer refused to believe that Monday was considered a holiday in Redlands, Ms Baker wrote.
“After he verbally abused me, he resorted to violence.
“The plates he threw at the counter with full force were aimed right at me.
“The first, which was completely unexpected, just missed my head by inches. I also managed to avoid the second one.’
‘At the time, 3 of our Junior Staff were working next to me on the counter, all under the age of 16.’
Her young staff were left in tears and everyone who worked at the cafe was still ‘jumpy’ a week later, she told Daily Mail Australia.
The man allegedly ordered Nutella waffles, a salmon bagel, and an Eggs Benedict for himself and his partner before the confrontation unfolded.
Other customers immediately reacted to the angry customer and surrounded the man, who was later questioned by the police.
“Thank God no one was seriously injured,” Mrs Baker wrote. “Well, that was a miracle.”
Customers reacted immediately to the angry customer who surrounded the man
The scary incident happened at the Whiskey Business cafe in Capalaba, in Redlands west of Brisbane. The photo shows the interior of Whiskey Business
The man ordered the cafe’s Nutella waffles (pictured), but threw away his meal without eating it
Ms Baker shared two videos of the incident online, but blurred the man’s face. “It is not my intention to give name and disgrace,” she said.
“Please be kind to each other and to your hospital staff the next time you are out and about. We’re just doing our job,” she also wrote.
Queensland Police confirmed that a 48-year-old man was charged with four offenses over the incident, including assault, malicious damage and public nuisance.
He is due to appear in Cleveland Magistrates Court on September 29.